The Master of Chateau le Loup
by Cologna
Summary: They had never met. It was a typical arranged marriage. A young bride with a family in need of money is given to a gentleman of wealth and title. But the master of Chateau le Loup is anything but gentle...or a man.
1. Chapter 1

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup **_

_Chapter One_

The carriage jostled and bounced erratically and sharply, causing the two women in the carriage to brace themselves firmly.

"Such a dark, dark forest," the maid murmured, her large blue eyes scanning the scenery through the window. "Surely, such a man of wealth would not desire such bleak surroundings."

The small, brown-haired beauty shrugged and continued to stare out of the window though her eyes saw something beyond the trees. "We are not so sure what kind of man Monsieur le Loup is."

"His given name should be enough," the maid groused. "This cursed forest could only foster wolves. No creature of kindness would wish to live here."

"Wolves are loyal creatures, to their own kind," Relena pointed out softly in her gentle voice. "They are logical and highly intelligent."

"Ah, mademoiselle, I should not speak of such things to you. This is your home now."

"I am married, Dorothy, you must remember that now," Relena murmured, her eyes drifting down to the beautiful diamond that sat atop her ring finger. It was encrusted in a silver flower with a black interior, giving the diamond the appearance of floating in the flower.

"You are such a brave woman and a very good one to your family for doing this sacrificial deed for them."

"My mother is ill and needs the money. I had no other prospects and I am getting to the age where I fear my hopes for proposals will grow to naught sooner than later."

"Your beauty is youthful and classic, my lady, surely you do not doubt your ability to wed?"

"It is behind us now, Dorothy, as I am about to meet my husband in a few short minutes."

"Does my lady wish for me to stay with her for a few days while she settles in?"

"No, I do not do well with maids around. Despite the desolate outlook of my new home it gives me the peace and quiet I have long desired."

"You were not one for the court?"

"Heavens, no!" Relena exclaimed softly. "The wigs, the corsets, the lies and the false friendships; it was as if one was swimming in a vast ocean infested with deadly sharks."

"Your analogy is vivid enough, my lady," Dorothy said with a smile.

"Please, I am not _your lady_."

"Of course…Relena."

Impatiently, Relena swept a long strand of hair behind her shoulder and winced as the carriage threw her against the door. "As my first order as lady of Chateau le Loup, I will have this trail smoothed," she complained.

"A lady of the house! You should most certainly have your time filled."

"I should hope so. I would hate to see what becomes of me if it is not."

Suddenly, the carriage jerked to a stop and both women looked at each other with slight trepidation in their eyes.

Relena's heart was pounding out a fierce rhythm and her stomach knotted to the point of pain. Her delicate fingers wended themselves together anxiously, nervously. When the door was opened she nearly jumped at the sudden movement. Her nerves were on edge and she was shaking as she was helped out of the carriage, Dorothy right behind her.

And there it was. The Chateau le Loup. It was a monstrous sight that looked more like the gates of Hell than the gates to a rich manor. Large, black iron spokes shot out of the stone walls that enclosed the grounds of the house. An arching gate kept all carriages or horses from entering without dismounting first. The house itself appeared to be looming over them, daring them to enter if they had the courage. It was gray and ancient. Large stones built up the towering home and huge glass windows opened up to forest, the glass gray and tinted with age.

For a moment, Relena wondered if they had arrived to the correct place. The chateau looked abandoned. As she opened her mouth to ask her driver if he was sure about their location the gate swung open on its own accord and the large, main door opened to reveal two men walking out onto the vast steps that led up to the entrance.

"That must be your husband on the right," Dorothy whispered as they began to walk through the house's dying garden up to the stone steps.

Relena swallowed hard, fear gripping her tightly and causing her hands to grow moist inside her gloves. The man was more wolf than man, it was true! He looked untamed in his navy blue suit. His hair was wild and unkempt, short for the fashion of the day. Dark blue eyes stared down at her with a severe lack of approval and any warmth to show he was a kind man. He could have been one of the pillars he stood so near to.

"Ah, Madame Relena, so glad to have you here at last!" the butler exclaimed, reaching out to help her up the last step. "I trust your trip here wasn't too uncomfortable."

"Not at all," Relena lied. "Though next time I think I will ride horseback instead of coach."

The butler chuckled and nodded. "Horrific roads we have out here. At any rate, welcome to Chateau le Loup. This is the master of the house, Monsieur Heero le Loup. Is your maid to remain here?"

"No," Relena said kindly. "She will be leaving once my bags are unpacked in my chamber."

"Then let me help you to her room," the butler said to Dorothy, reaching out to take her arm.

This left Relena and Heero alone. They stared at one another, though Relena could only glance for a moment before she was forced to advert her eyes. She looked down at her simple brown shoes as Heero stepped forward.

"I thought you to come from a rich family."

"We are financially sound."

"You look starved," Heero retorted. He began to circle her slowly, his gaze burning through her.

Relena began to turn warily, finding herself too exposed. She didn't like the idea of this man circling her like prey.

"Hold still!" he demanded. "Your turning defeats my entire purpose of moving around you," the man continued, his voice harsh and snapping.

Relena visibly jumped but kept herself still, her cheeks blazing and red.

"You dress sensibly, the absence of a wig is relieving, too thin, too short…" he muttered. "I will not be surprised with the wind blows you away. No substance."

"Excuse me?" Relena instantly snapped. No substance?

"At least physically. You could dress the part of a man and be mistaken as one," Heero elaborated. "Now, your education."

"Has probably far exceeded yours."

Heero simply raised an eyebrow. She had spirit and was courage. That would prove to be a slight problem as Heero did not do well with defiance.

"Math? Sciences? What of those?" he barked.

"I can do all functions of mathematics whether it be physics or finances and as for sciences I am fully up to date on all the latest theories and what we consider fact."

"What of domestic chores?"

"They are poor monsieur. I clean well enough but I do not cook, nor do I sew. I do not play anything but the piano and poorly at that."

"Useless skills but they are defining as a woman nonetheless. Do you deny your role as a wife and a mother?"

"I deny the role of a mother because I am yet to ever be one. As for a wife, I would deny those roles mainly because I would defy any degrading stereotype to my sex."

"A feminist," Heero groaned, putting his face into his large, callused hand momentarily.

"Not what you had hoped for?" Relena taunted though her voice remained sweet.

"Not in the least, you are definitely the opposite of what I had requested."

"Then we at least have that much in common, Monsieur le Loup."

"You fear me yet you do not back down," Heero puzzled.

"I was taught to face up to my fears."

Heero took one decisive step towards her and grabbed her fiercely by the back of the neck, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "That will be remedied very quickly I should think," he growled.

"You have the title of a gentleman, but you are anything but," Relena whispered fiercely.

Heero smiled just slightly and Relena's eyes widened when she caught the glimpse of his long incisors. "I am neither of those, my wife. You will learn that soon enough."

His eyes stood out amongst the drag, gray scenery around them. All shades of gray and shadows. Those savage eyes seemed to be the only thing alive and Relena found herself unable to tear gaze away. Neither of those? Neither gentle nor man? Is that what he had meant?

His head swooped down with no warning and cold lips pressed hard against hers. She was helpless to fight against his strength as his arms encased her like bands of steel. His kiss was full of passion and menace. There was an animalistic sense about it, like a male staking claim of something that was his. He was marking her in some unseen way. It was frightening but ever so slightly enticing and seductive all at once.

Before Relena could think over that aspect further, his mouth was gone and she was standing free from his grip. Momentarily, she swayed.

Her first kiss. Pale fingers fluttered up to her red, swollen lips. They felt bruised and hot. Heero merely glared down at her for a moment longer.

"Welcome to my world, lady," he said coldly. "I do believe it will be quite different than the one you're used to."

(O)(O)(O)

AN: reviews, anyone? I'm slowing down with Look my Way and Never Fall for the Infallible at the moment and this one I've been dying to post. I hope you all enjoyed it. Feedback is absolutely welcomed.


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Two_

Heero awoke quickly, nostrils flaring and blood pumping loudly through his veins. Something was…off. He sat up in bed quickly and threw the covers aside, using his acute hearing to detect any sound of trouble. There was silence throughout the house.

He stood with a sharp oath falling from his mouth as he dressed quickly in pants and a loose undershirt, not bothering to tie up the neck. He strode silently through the house despite his heavy boots and continued to scan the area for danger.

Someone or something was emitting stress and unhappiness. He let that feeling guide him out into the barely lit morning, the fog rolling through the forest like tendrils of spirits lost forever in the maze of trees and fallen logs. Heero felt his incisors begin to pound as he wished fiercely to change into his more commonly used form. The idea of coming across Relena in that state and being forced to expose himself was something he was not willing to risk so soon.

A soft whine reached his ears and then the sound of Relena's soft voice, murmuring something soothing and melodic. Her voice was nearly haunting and drew Heero in closer as he peered into the glade the sounds were coming from. The sight before him was a tragic one.

A mother wolf was on her side, dead. She had been shot not too long ago and had run this far to save her pup. The small wolf was crying forlornly, nudging his mother and then Relena, confused as to what to do. Relena picked the small pup up into her arms and held the creature to her chest, holding its small head to her, keeping the youngster from looking at the body of his lost mother.

"Relena?" Heero demanded, stepping into the clearing.

With an audible gasp, Relena stood and instinctually took a step away from the harsh voice.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I—" she stumbled to a halt. _Had this terrible dream that turned out to be true._ "I was out walking when I came across this small wolf," she partly lied.

Heero had read her thoughts, though, and it startled him to hear that. He looked at her skeptically. "You decided to get up before dawn and take a walk in a forest I warned you was dangerous? You are of no use to me dead, Madame."

Her eyes flashed briefly with anger before the pup cried out and squirmed in her arms. "We cannot just leave him here…"

The word 'we' sat strangely upon Heero and he shook his head. "No, I suppose we cannot. I suppose you are lucky that you had a strange urge to go walking out in the dark this morning."

Something in the tone of her husband's voice implied he knew of her lie though she couldn't think of how he would know. She tucked the pup closer to her chest as they began to walk silently back through the house.

"Let me see the thing, Relena," Heero ordered.

Relena hesitated for a moment but as she eyed a tree she'd have to lift her dress for, she decided to hand the cold creature over to her husband. Heero took the puppy and held it close to his body, willing his body to give off heat and offered his small finger for the little wolf to suck on.

Relena watched with a small touch of admiration in her eyes.

"It will soothe him long enough to get back to the house."

So the big bad wolf did have a soft spot, Relena mused. And for wolves no less.

(O)(O)(O)

Duo Maxwell was a stunning man that commanded attention just by his unnatural good looks. His smile was pure seduction and his body was that of a toned lover that had spent endless hours working at pleasure. It was in the way he walked and in the way he moved. It was in the way he sat down and the way he leaned forward to engage in conversation. It was in the way he winked when he teased and they way he laughed huskily when amused.

Duo Maxwell was sex on two enticingly sexy legs.

And on top of everything else, was Heero's closest friend.

Heero paced before the fireplace, his usual voice rough as he described the recent events to his friend who sat perfectly groomed and composed in an armchair. It was like a house cat watching a lion pace. They were similar in some ways; both had their shirts slightly undone. One out of impatience, one out of calculation. Both wore heavy boots. One for long treks into the forest and the other for the sharp, demanding sound they made. Both had fire in their eyes. One constantly angry, the other consistently aroused.

Both seemed to be men of power and a different world, Relena had noticed when Lord Maxwell had invited himself in.

"So, I was quite alarmed to hear that you were married and with no invitation whatsoever to the event," Duo drawled in a heavy accent that Relena couldn't quite place.

Heero paused his heavy strides for a moment to stare at his ageless companion. "It was hardly an event."

"It is _always_ an event when a gorgeous woman is present," Duo insisted, glancing towards Relena as she entered with a silver tray boasting hot tea. A tiny wolf's head poked out of a swaddle Relena had fashioned for him so he could stay close to her heart. It seemed to calm him.

She smiled just slightly but Heero noted with fierce satisfaction that she would not meet Duo's eyes or flirt back. She accepted the compliment as a married woman should. In a rare light mood Heero inquired about the recently saved wolf.

"He has been extremely tranquil all afternoon. He sleeps most of the time."

Heero nodded, "Good. I suspect he shall cry for several more days before he grows accustomed to his new surroundings." Heero was instantly reminded of how Relena had cried gently at night for the first few days they had been wed. They had been quiet sniffs even to Heero's acute hearing. Perhaps having the pup would ease her as well since it was a role he was not fit to play.

"Is there anything else I can get?" Relena asked Heero directly.

"No, the tea was more than enough," Heero assured in his untamed voice.

Relena smiled slightly, noting his effort to speak gently to her. It only caused his voice to growl more. "Very well, I think I shall be in the garden for a couple of hours then."

Heero nodded at her dismissal and both men watched her leave in silence. They remained silent until they heard the back door open and close.

"Heero, she is magnificent," Duo praised.

"She will do."

Duo raised an elegant eyebrow and looked at Heero with disdain. "You could not have asked for more yet she seems to be able to do far better. I would care for her, were I you."

"You _care_ for all women."

"They are worth caring for. Ah, but Heero, the people will love her."

"It is a good thing someone will, for I will not."

"And why would you be so quick to say that? You have made an obvious effort to make her comfortable and never once have you tried to speak gently to a woman as you did to her now."

"The soft words are rare," Heero assured in a sharp voice.

Duo sat back and sighed. "For once in your long, lonely existence it would be nice for you to finally accept the ways of our people and take this woman into your heart. You cannot live alone for all eternity; you would be driven to madness."

Heero waved a hand in dismissal and began to pace once more. "My duty to my people left me no room for a wife."

"And now it demands you have one," Duo pointed out.

"I am an assassin, not a leader. My father was a leader, my grandfather as well. But I am not. I share their blood but not their disposition to guide a dying race."

"We are hardly dying as of this century. This is the right time to step up, when the pressure is low."

"I do not need your advice. I am bound by law to ascend my position and so I will."

Duo chuckled low in his throat and looked out of the window to watch Relena kneel down and begin her work with the soil and the weeds.

"She insists upon doing that before winter comes along. It is hardly proper for a lady of her birth."

"But you prefer her that way," Duo answered. "Do not throw societal rules in her face Heero when you despise them yourself. You always said if you were to marry it would be to a simple woman who appreciated the earth as we do and who would accept your ways."

"Dreams of an adolescent are often sweet but fleeting."

"Your dream is out there right now, my old friend."

"Do you know how much older than her I really am?" Heero demanded.

Duo smirked. "Of course. I, personally, enjoy the thought whilst occupied in an activity of physical nature."

Heero rolled his eyes and stopped to watch Relena release the pup to the ground as she began to pull weeds. The small wolf watched for a few moments before he reacted and happily began to dig at the weeds, pulling them up with his paws.

Relena sat back and laughed, scratching the pup's head lovingly and returned to her work. She had a serene look upon her face and just a hint of a smile on her full lips. Heero watched with a sigh. "She does deserve much more."

"You can make her happy, Heero. It is within you as it is within all the males of our species. She is the one for you and you have the luxury of time."

"It is not in my nature."

"Was it in Wufei's before he met his match? I suspect it was, just deep down."

"Wufei has always been a defender of the weaker sex."

"_Fairer_ sex," Duo corrected.

Heero glared at Duo to emphasis his point. The sex god stood and Heero was disgusted to see how just the mere act of standing could look like an invitation.

"You have made up your mind to have nothing to do with her so there is nothing I can say in the way of encouragement," Duo retreated. He elegantly swept a strand of his thick bangs aside. But allow me, if you will, to give you this one, last thought before I depart."

"I am reluctant to do so," Heero replied warily.

Duo smirked and laughed low, his husky voice causing the room's temperature to rise a few degrees. Heero spread his fingers wide and instantly a wind blew through the room and cooled it back down. "I told you never to laugh in my presence."

Duo dismissed the retort and came to stand up against the window. "Can you imagine her in the arms of another man?" Duo's voice was low and toying. "Your young, beautiful and gentle bride trapped beneath another male? Can you even see a mark on that soft, flawless skin that was not left by you? Can you even picture her hair fanned out against another man's pillow?"

Heero felt his anger rise to a fever pitch with each question Duo threw at him. Relena was his and his alone. Their union was not one that could ever be undone and she belonged solely to him in all aspects of the word. Her body was his, her life was his…

"Now look into her mind, Heero. Can you see what I do?"

Heero easily slipped into her unguarded mind and withdrew quickly, rubbing a hand over his face. "She would never."

Duo's smile grew into an egotistical, satisfied smile. "Now, can you picture the only way she would ever end up in that situation?"

Instantly the air was cut off to Duo and he smiled as invisible hands strangled him. He merely glanced at Heero with knowing eyes. After a long moment he was able to draw air into his lungs and he crossed his arms, waiting for a response.

Heero just turned away from him. "You have made your point."

"Go out to her, kneel down, pull a few weeds and then kiss her. It is the only way you will be able to sleep tonight."

Duo turned to leave and stopped at the doorway to the parlor. "Do not ever lie to yourself and say you do not care," he warned in a serious voice. "You do not want that day to come, Heero, when she opens her eyes to our world and does not have someone to hold her and assure her that everything is all right. That would be the fastest and surest way to lose your beauty."

Heero shook his head as he watched Duo exit regally as though he owned the place. He feathered a soft kiss to a maid's hand that walked by and threw a smile at her that brought her nearly to her knees. With a husky laugh and an instant rise in the temperature he was at the door and then all that was seen was a huge golden eagle flying up into the sky.

_Go out to her, kneel down, pull a few weeds and then kiss her. It is the only way you will be able to sleep tonight._

Duo was never wrong about those kinds of remedies so with a resigned sigh and a quick glance to make sure none of his servants saw him, Heero slipped outside.

The pup stopped digging and ran over to Heero. The lord was quick to pick up the small wolf and carry him back to his new mother. Hesitantly, Heero knelt down without a word and set the creature down.

"Have you named him?"

Relena shook her head. "I don't know what one would possibly name a wolf."

"Well, let us ask him what he wishes to call himself," Heero said firmly, no humor in his voice. He pulled the puppy up and held the black eyes eye level to his blue ones. The puppy's tail wagged a few times before he was let down.

"And?" Relena laughed softly.

"He said his name is Guerrier."

Relena laughed again. "Is that so? Well, then so be it!"

"I am quite serious."

"You can speak to wolves my lord? That is a talent I am yet to hear of."

"There are many talents I have I am sure you would find absurd."

"Oh?" Relena challenged.

Heero simply began to pull weeds, refusing to answer her taunt. He noticed that when Relena ran her hands through the soil it turned darker, lusher. Already, she was beginning to show signs of conversion. Females often showed signs of their abilities even before the actual conversion was made just being around their match. Relena showed the ability to heal and Heero was immensely relieved to see she would be gifted with that talent. Lord knew there were too few of them that had the skill.

"You are not a gardener, monsieur, as I can tell by the state of your yard, so do tell me as to why you have come out to join me? Do you wish to humor this silly hobby? Is this a peace offering?"

"You think too highly of me," Heero retorted. "I am simply out here to take brief advantage of you."

"How would you accomplish that my husband?" she laughed, looking over at him.

With his cleanest hand, Heero reached out and held her chin still as he brought his mouth to hers. The kiss was firm and demanding. There was no forced gentleness. Heero's passion flared quickly as he felt her response only a heartbeat later. She wasn't resisting.

Reeling, Heero pulled away gruffly and stood just as abruptly as he had begun and ended the kiss. "Dinner will be served in an hour as the sun sets. As I forbid you to stay out after dark, I suggest you come in soon and wash up before we dine."

Relena could only stare at him as he returned to the house swiftly as though nothing of consequence had just taken place. For the second time, Relena touched her lips to her mouth. They were warm and moist. Her heart was still pounding as she tried to replay what had just occurred.

Heero smirked as he felt Relena's confusion and interest peak. The kiss had left her feeling warm and strangely taunt. As he retreated to his room to dress properly he felt his shoulders fall slightly from their raised position as he relaxed. Relena would be thinking of him all evening and into the night.

Yes, Heero would definitely sleep well tonight.

(O)(O)(O)

AN: okay! Well, let me answer the question that seems to have arisen: what is Heero (and now Duo for this matter). The pilots are simply supernatural beings with ties to nature and the elements. They are not vampires and are not werewolves. They are immortal beings that have been around for centuries and centuries and have created a society for the sake of their survival. That's a vague answer but more will become clear! Thank you SO much to my reviewers. I have never gotten a response quite like this one and look forward to hearing all your ideas for this chapter! Thank you to: iczy, hashiba42, gundamgirl1818, silver-eyed, Nihal, Leigh4, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, Animouse03, aya otohata, Mila, turquoise, Lady.Chocolat, Pam, and sanctuary! Thanks a lot guys!


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Three_

"What a pleasure it is to meet you at last, Madame."

Relena felt awkward offering her hand to such a well-dressed gentleman but she allowed it with the urging from her husband's eyes. For a man who spoke very little he said a lot. As soon as the kiss was bestowed the man had straightened back up.

Relena simply nodded. Her mind was working overtime. She knew this man's name and she couldn't accept that it was true. "Tell me, monsieur, were you named after your father?" she asked lightly as she sat down, though her eyes betrayed her deep intent.

Quatre smiled gently and as he sat, his tailcoats seemed to flutter for a single moment. Heero glanced sharply at both of them, tense.

"I was, Madame, as most first sons are named after their fathers in hope that they will carry on some pointless legacy."

"I am not so sure about legacies, monsieur, but I do believe my father and your father were in business together at one point."

"What was your maiden name, may I inquire?"

"Paix-Métier."

Quatre stiffened for a moment and his eyes shot to Heero in fierce reproach. He had not told her yet? A slight breeze drifted through the room, cold and biting.

Heero instantly went to a window and shut it, though his hair did not blow from the weather outside. He was just as quick to snatch the knitted shawl from the couch and throw it over Relena's shoulders.

"Yes," Quatre answered hesitantly, still watching Heero warily. "I suppose our fathers did do business together."

Relena smiled gently, all wariness seeping from her as she cuddled in further to the smaller armchair. She felt Heero's large hands still lingering on her shoulders and wondered why he was maintaining contact for such a time.

Suddenly, the parlor door burst open and an Asian man strode in, dark glasses over his eyes and wore the traditional Chinese attire without a wrinkle to show that he had traveled but a few steps. His hair was pulled tightly back over a perfectly shaped head and his mouth was set deep in a frown.

"Ah, Wufei," Quatre greeted kindly. "How good of you to come on such short notice. Relena and I have just discovered that both of our fathers did business together some years back."

"Father?" Wufei murmured, brows knitting together.

"The one I was named after?" Quatre stressed.

This caused Wufei to look up at Heero. Relena caught a glimpse of the eyes behind the glasses and she stiffened under Heero's hands. Instantly, she was grateful for his secure touch. Without thought, she brought her hand up to touch one of those strong, callused hands and she was nearly shocked into a gasp as she felt his hand take gentle hold of hers.

_You have not told you yet?_ Wufei demanded, as he took a seat on the couch that faced the fire.

_Do _not_ raise your gaze to her! You are scaring the poor thing!_ Heero roared.

Behind the Chinese man strolled in a man that was tall and lithe. His hair was strangely done but his elegance was that of ancient times. He appeared serene; almost like a painting or a statue. He was almost not lifelike. With a small glance in the way of the newly married couple he bowed deeply, gracing them with the ways of royalty before he silently sat down next to Wufei without a word.

Relena felt her heart rate increase and she sat back further in her chair. Energy was building in the room and she was finding it harder to breathe. Just when things could not get worse soft laughter drifted into the room, sending the temperature higher.

Duo strode in with all his grace and with a smile to kill and a wink top it, he sank into the nearest chair as though it was a decadent hot spring. Relena swept her eyes downward and focused on the small circles Heero's hand was drawing on her skin. Never, _never_ had he touched her this way.

Yes, the crude remarks had lessened but so had their conversations and their time together. Heero had been gone so much lately and when he was home he was asleep or locked in his study.

"Would you excuse us, Relena?" he growled into her ear.

She couldn't have asked for a better miracle. She was quick to stand up and excuse herself, shutting the door fast behind her.

"Heero, what in the name of the Mother are you thinking?" Wufei demanded, standing immediately to his feet.

Duo's smile was hot and smoldering. "Do not tell us our gallant leader cries _wolf_?"

Heero's growl emitted through the room and shook each man. Duo just laughed deep in his throat and as the temperature rose, Trowa whistled just slightly under his breath and it cooled.

"Trying to put out my fire?" Duo teased in a low voice.

"This is not about your infernal sex drive, Maxwell, now I will thank you to suppress it for at least an hour."

"I will the day Heero acts civil," Duo tossed back easily at Wufei. He sat back in the chair and crossed one well toned leg over the other and blew smoke out from his mouth. When he touched the tip of his tongue to his lip, steam rose from it.

Trowa rolled his eyes and Wufei's hand quickly went to his glasses.

"Enough!" Heero demanded, stalking towards the fireplace. "I will not have this kind of childish behavior in my lair; now, we must discuss the pressing matter at hand."

"It is not as pressing as telling your_ wife_ the truth about who and what we are!" Wufei declared.

"Always the protector of the fairer sex. Wufei, your passionate words inspire me," Duo nearly moaned as his eyes sparkled and his lips quirked in a devilish grin.

"Duo, do not support Heero in this matter," Quatre quietly advised.

Heero closed Quatre's airway off with just a brief exertion of his mind and when he was satisfied that he had made his point, he released the man. Trowa's eyes smoldered for a moment, the green eyes turning to a texture that looked of ice.

"Come off it," Heero snapped.

"You _must_ tell her, Heero. Imagine if she finds out the hard way," Wufei pointed out.

"And how would she find out the _hard way_?" Heero challenged. "None of you would dare interfere."

"She has already begun to change," Trowa murmured in a barely audible voice. "It will only be a matter of time before she begins to notice and then your nature will not be so easy to hide."

"And the only way you are going to get those heirs you require is slipping that pretty little body beneath yours and you know what happens then," Duo hummed. His violet eyes blazed into Heero's. "She becomes one of _us_."

"I will not require heirs for quite some time."

Quatre sighed and sat forward in his chair. "Heero, you cannot continue to live a lie. She will not trust you if she finds out before you tell her and then the rest of your long existence will be plagued by doubt and fear."

"Tell me how that would be any different from my life now?" Heero remarked caustically.

Quatre threw his hands up and sent the curtains flailing for a moment along with the other men's loose hair. He sat back with folded arms and downcast blue eyes. Trowa glanced Quatre's way for a brief moment before he stood. "You are no king of mine until you can face up to the smallest of responsibilities; being honest to your own."

He didn't even walk to the door before his entire figure dissipated into nothing. Quatre stood in a hurry and with a sharp, reproaching glance at Heero he became simply a breeze in the room and was gone.

Duo stood and looked at Wufei for the briefest of seconds. Wufei clenched his fists tightly but released his anger as well he could. "Until next time, milord," he groused. Opening the door with a bit too much force, he marched out of the parlor.

"Truly, Heero," Duo murmured in his low voice. He walked up behind Heero and ran a fingertip from one shoulder blade and across his back to another. "Do not be so hard on yourself. Eventually the wolf will want out and when he does he will desire Relena above all else. And you know just as well as I do," Duo whispered up against Heero's ear. "What the wolf wants, the wolf gets." He placed a slight kiss against the base of Heero's neck and then laughed. "Besides, you know how I am around virgins and I would like to spend more time speaking with you before the coronation."

Heero wanted to throttle the bisexual sex fiend hovering about him. "You can leave the way you came."

"Of course, my old friend. _Sweet dreams._"

(O)(O)(O)

Heero tossed his head against the pillow. Sweat beaded his forehead and his fists clenched the sheets tightly below him. His pelvis throbbed and his groin was coiling tighter and tighter. His lower abdomen was burning and aching. His entire body was strung as tight as a bow and with a low moan Heero opened his eyes into the darkness of his room.

Still, eyes open, his dream would not leave him. Oh, she had the body of an angel. So tight, so warm, so inviting. His. All his. Her body was made for him.

He could feel slick, wet muscles convulsing around his manhood and with a drawn out groan, Heero threw his head back against the pillow and squeezed his eyes shut, willing the vision to leave him. Her soft cries and gasps and pleas all filled his ears and invaded his mind. His fists renewed their fierce grasp on the sheets as he writhed mindlessly against the bed. The friction upon his body increased and he was consumed by the feeling yet too painfully aware that it was merely an illusion.

He was going to kill Duo Maxwell slowly. Agonizingly. He would rid the world once and for all of the overly eager sex demon for what the creature had done to him.

He bit his lip from speaking her name. The urge to let that beautiful word slip from his mouth was overpowering but he refused. It wasn't until he drew blood that the friction and heat heightened. Relena's moans became more insistent in his head and out of sheer anguish Heero's back arched up and off the bed as he came hard onto his taunt belly and chest, a single name escaping his lips.

"Relena…"

(O)(O)(O)

Relena couldn't eat. Ever since Heero had left two days ago she had felt this uneasiness, a sickening sort of nervousness.

"Is my lady not hungry again?" an elderly maid worried over the full plate and the woman sitting before it.

"No, I am afraid I am not," Relena spoke in a detached voice. She hadn't been able to focus, her mind constantly seeking out Heero in some way, as though she could will him back to her. "Did my husband ever tell you where he was going?"

"Only that he had important business to attend to and that it might be a few days."

"A few days?"

"Are you not feeling well?"

"No, I suppose I do not feel like my usual self."

"Could my lady be with child already?"

"We have not even consummated the marriage. No, I do not know what is wrong with me."

"Shall I call for a doctor?"

Relena waved her hand in dismissal. "No, of course not. I am going out to the garden. I do apologize for not enjoying the wonderful breakfast you cooked."

"No, no, milady, no apologies."

Relena left the dining room and floated out to the garden, half of her mind scattered about the forest. She knelt down to the ground without seeing it and began to work on weeds she didn't even glance at.

"I do not like this, Guerrier."

The black, wiry puppy plopped down next to her and looked up at her with large, black inquisitive eyes. He almost seemed to be asking her why. Foolishly, she answered the silent question.

"First this Duo Maxwell character shows up and not even God above could convince me he was an ordinary man. Then just two days ago Heero holds a meeting with three other men that all seem to be just as different as Monsieur Maxwell. There was this feeling in the room like when your skirts still have static in them. I was almost itching! Then, my dear husband leaves without even telling me as much as where is off to and for what. Let us not forget that I have been bringing live buds to the surface in the middle of autumn and that when I cut myself the other day, I placed my hand over the cut in pain, lifted it and then it was gone. I could not have imagined cutting my own skin! Guerrier, something is definitely not what it seems around here. Now that Heero is gone I have had this horrible feeling of anxiousness and dread. I am sure it is just a business trip but why do I feel like he is in grave danger?"

Relena sighed heavily and then looked down at the puppy who continued to study her.

"Do not look at me as though I am crazy," she chastised. "I am not…am I?" she whispered to herself.

The puppy yapped once and shook his head. Relena's eyes grew wide in shock and she slowly lowered the small shovel she had been working with.

"You actually understand what I am saying?"

The pup nodded its head once and his tongue hung out as he panted happily.

"You really did tell Heero your name was Guerrier. And for a moment I thought he had a sense of humor. Oh my…" Relena looked down and then looked back at the puppy. "When I heard that Monsieur le Loup was not an ordinary man I never expected anything like this. This is some kind of dream…it has to be…"

The puppy shook its head. He put a paw up on her thigh and then lifted his head for attention. Relena reluctantly let her fingers run under his jaw and his heavy tail began to wag incessantly. "Smart pup you might be but not so unpredictable. You realize, young sir, that now you have no excuse to not be house trained."

The puppy ignored the statement and kept enjoying the attention he was receiving. Heero mostly ignored him and Relena seemed to know all the spots he loved. He loved her like she was his mother. She _was_ his mother now. She was the best mother ever, letting him sleep with her. He worried that when he'd grow up he'd be too big to sleep on her bed anymore. But when he was bigger he'd be able to protect his mother. And that was a day he couldn't wait for.

The front door opened and slammed shut and both Relena and Guerrier turned their heads to look back at the house. "Only one man dares slam that door," Relena pointed out as she stood, quickly gathering the front of her plain, olive-green dress and hurrying back into the house, garden tools forgotten.

Relena halted with a gasp as she saw her husband leaning heavily against the wall with one hand and the other clasped over a wound seeping bright, red blood. There was sweat on his forehead and his hair was in more disarray than normal. He bellowed the name of the housekeeper and demanded the release his white hawk into the sky.

"Heero, what happened?" Relena exclaimed, running up to him and slipping under his free arm. Too weak to argue, he let her take some of his weight as she helped him up the stairs.

"A man like me has few friends," Heero rasped through clenched teeth.

"And many a foe?" Relena finished as she struggled to open the door to his chamber.

"None that I myself began," Heero assured. "But I do intend to end them all."

"You seem to not be in the best condition to make such strong convictions."

Heero collapsed onto the bed with a sharp hiss and flinched when he felt Relena sit down next to him on the bed. She brushed back a piece of damp hair and despite the fact that Heero frowned, his body visibly relaxed.

"Let me see it," Relena coaxed.

"It would not be wise for a well-bred lady like you to see such a wound."

"I already know you were not shot so let me see it already!" she demanded. "And if you are worried about my delicate disposition you needn't worry about that, _mari_, I have already seen enough strange happenings to last a lifetime."

Heero opened his eyes at that statement and there was blatant concern and worry in his eyes. He almost seemed sorry.

"Remove your hand," Relena said in a steady voice. "I want to try something."

Heero reluctantly did so and Relena was truly no surprised to see in the least that the attack looked more like an animal attack than human. The gash was deep and angry. She leaned in close to examine in and determine just how much damage had been done. She was amazed by her ability to put her queasiness aside to do what had to be done. The wound tore into the muscle but not past that.

With a deep sigh she sat back and rubbed her hands together. "If I fix this will you must promise to answer a single question honestly."

"That holds a lot of gravity," Heero said warily.

"More than you can imagine. Do you agree to my terms?"

"Only if you can fix this."

"Of course."

"Then proceed; we have an agreement," Heero responded through his teeth. He didn't trust himself to speak more. Pain was overriding his consciousness and without that, there was no hope to ever maintain a thin strand of civility with his wife and their relationship.

With a content nod Relena placed both hands over the wound and looked over at her husband's closed eyes. "You had best be a man of your word, monsieur," she threatened.

"Why does my _femme _say that?" Heero groaned.

"Because you are about to start talking."

With that statement she lifted her hands and with a smile of pure satisfaction and a stoked ego, Relena displayed flawless, though slightly bloody skin. It was as though he'd never been injured. Heero looked down, shock apparent in his eyes.

Just then the door burst open and Quatre flew into the room as though he had been carried by the wind. His feet seemed to hardly touch the floor. When Relena looked she noticed…they hadn't.

Quatre stopped and studied the scene. Heero was lying on the bed, obviously not in pain. There was blood but no wound and despite her ever-clean appearance, Relena had blood all over her hands.

"I am assuming that I arrived a moment too late," he murmured.

Relena stood up with a small smile. "Tell me, monsieur, how _old_ is your father?"

Quatre froze and thought for a moment. It was a trap. He could hear it in her voice, see it on her face, and what alarmed him the most, was he could see it on Heero's as well.

"Around the same age as your father."

Relena nodded, the trap sprung and Quatre caught in it. "Well, I thank you for treating my father with such kindness in business. You saved our family once from a horrible fate." She turned to Heero. "And I will leave you to recover your strength and your wit before we have our little talk."

Heero just closed his eyes in defeat and listened to the soft sounds of his wife's footsteps leaving the room.

"_Merde,_" Heero cursed eloquently.

"Serves you right, my lord!" Quatre exclaimed, smiling despite his defeat moments ago. "I should have not even attempted to lie for your sake."

Trowa instantly appeared at Quatre's side. "Did I not warn you?"

"For once in your life could you walk through a door?" Heero demanded.

"I cannot open doors if you remember correctly. Perhaps you lost more blood than it appears."

"Silence!" Heero demanded. "Both of you have the responsibility to help me and right now I need to figure out what the hell I am going to say to my wife."

"The truth," they answered together.

Heero ran a hand over his face. "I need to bathe first off," he murmured. "Then I need to clear my mind."

Trowa shook his head softly and disappeared instantly. Quatre's hair shifted as though someone touched it gently and he smiled just ever so slightly before he turned his attention back to his king-to-be.

"I agree that you should do both and in that order, however, I do not suggest you use those as an excuse to hold off talking to her. If you cannot already tell by the energy in the house, the woman is near furious."

"She healed me. Almost instantly. Faster than any of our healers have ever been able to."

"And she has not even converted yet," Quatre murmured. "She will most certainly be a force to reckon with."

Heero hefted himself into a sitting position and stood up with a heavy sigh. "On second thought, just hand me a clean shirt and a pair of pants. I would rather get this over with."

Quatre fumbled around in the dresser drawers while Heero removed his ruined clothes and threw them into the fireplace. He took a rag and attempted to clean off most the blood in time to have a clean black shirt and pants tossed at him.

"Oh, and Quatre," Heero added as the blond took his leave. "Tell Duo to get the hell out of my house. If I am going to speak to my wife she will be fully in control of her mind and not sedated by false illusions or fantasies of me."

"That is the most honorable thing you have said in quite a while, my lord," Quatre complimented with a sly smile. "I will have the demon removed immediately."

Heero dressed quickly and only opened the door to his bedchamber when he knew Quatre and Duo had left. The house seemed to relax a little and with that indication, Heero followed the sweet smell that Relena always left behind no matter where she went. The trail led him to the closed doors of the parlor.

A sense of dread crept up through Heero's spine and pinched the back of his neck. His shoulders stiffened and he felt his jaw clench and brace itself. Muscles rippled and tightened. Were he to have a sword in his hand, one would immediately assume the man was about to face a dark, dangerous and hideous enemy.

Heero almost wished that were the case. Something far worse seemed to stand on the other side of that door.

His wife.

(O)(O)(O)

AN: wow…I am seriously humbled by the outstanding number of reviews I have received for this story so far. Thank you so much. I must admit I am not very happy with this chapter. I wrote it and rewrote it and wrote it again but this seem to be as good as it's going to get with five exams in the next few days and a trip for my honors college this weekend. I do apologize and can assure you that the next chapter will have all the romance and intrigue this story should have. Thank you for those who provided amazing and encouraging feedback: **_Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, Peri of the Elves, sanctuary, gundamgirl1818, Mini Nicka, iczy, Jays Arravan, mirah, mooncancer, aidenrae, Animouse03, NessieGG, xATHRUNzalax, hashiba42, Anna McNarin, Alaskantiger, Kim, Reignashii, silver-eyed_**.


	4. Chapter 4

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Four_

Under any other circumstance Heero would have silently admired her courage and resolve. But when that obstinacy was aimed at him it was nothing he could see as a good thing. He was nearly taken aback at the stance she took. Only the dress and long hair reminded him that she was female. Her hands were splayed wide on her hips, her legs fairly apart, her chin lifted to him.

And for God's sake it was only _one_ question. All this. For one question. He strode into the room looking a lot more confident than he felt. He was not about to underestimate her single question. He knew it had to be all encompassing. She was truly in charge of the situation at hand. And that in itself made Heero bristle with frustration. Everything was always in his control.

_Well, you could be a bloody coward and go back on your word_, Duo reminded him telepathically. Heero slammed a mental block in place. The damned creature would not leave him be. It annoyed Heero at times that Duo took just as passionate interest in men as he did women. He truly wished the sex fiend would leave him alone once and for all. Sexually and mentally at least. Mentally most of all. Sexually he was able to ignore Duo entirely.

"Ahem," Relena blatantly interrupted his thoughts. "Do you prefer to sit when you have a lot to account for or do you prefer to stand?"

"I shall continue to stand, thank you," Heero retaliated in a falsely polite voice. "Now, I believe you just had one question to ask before I am free to get back to my task at hand."

"I shall state it simply and plainly," Relena cautioned. "So there will be no way for you to idle around the question."

"Believe me when I say that everything I do is thorough and exactly to the point," came the growling response.

"Good then. My question is just this: _what_ are you?"

Heero smirked. Ah, he should have known. He was expecting something a little more complex along the lines as, 'what is happening to me?', 'how am I able to do that?' and so on. Relena was turning out to be astute enough to step back and take a larger perspective to things.

"What am I?" Heero repeated in a gruff voice as he began to pace around the room, Relena standing in the center. "Be aware that your question only relates to me and not my comrades or yourself."

"I will draw my own conclusions," Relena responded in a confident voice.

"Very well," Heero admonished. He sighed heavily, playing with the different responses running through his head. "A simple answer for a simple question then," he spoke in a warning tone. "I am what the Greeks and Romans considered to be a god. My species does not have a self-given name but for all your purposes, that historic allusion should suffice."

"A god?"

Heero simply nodded. "Now, if that will do?"

He could see Relena's resolve begin fall away as her hands slipped from her hips. She studied him carefully, her shoulders softening in defeat. "This should make for an odd marriage when I begin to age," she murmured to herself, obviously at a loss.

Heero smirked and stopped his pacing to enter the invisible circle he had created around her. With deft fingers he lifted her left hand and brought the ring up so she could see it clearly. "You are not mortal. Not anymore."

Her eyes looked down at the ring and then up at him. "You never told me," she whispered in a voice that began to quiver.

Heero dropped her hand and stared directly back at her. "It was necessary for me to take a wife and I should think it obvious I would have never obtained one by allowing them to get to know me first."

"So you would use deceit then?"

"I believe you asked your one question, my _dear_, and I shall remain a man of my word."

"That is the only kind of man you are, Monsieur le Loup!" Relena cried, eyes beginning to sparkle with tears. She turned sharply on her heel and fled for the door.

Heero stood watching slightly in shock. He had expected…

"Her to fight?"

Heero just brought his hand up to his eyes and pressed his callused fingers hard against his flesh at the sound of the voice behind him. Another hand shot impatiently up to his hip as he heard the front door open and close fiercely.

"If you have no intentions of getting that blasted woman back into the house then I have no need of you."

Trowa scoffed. "Should I hold the door open for you?"

Heero spun around. "In all my years, Monsieur Barton, I have seen our kind produce many children all with different talents and abilities—all exploiting nature's most majestic mysteries and strengths but you?"

Trowa clenched his fists.

"You are the _idea_ that nothing is actually something. Profound, I must admit but still…" Heero's eyes narrowed. "Nothing. How could you possibly help me since I am left to assume that that is why you are here?"

Trowa smirked but remained tense. "What is the mind, my lord? It is an idea, but it is nothing. Therefore, I am in it. I _am_ it. I am in your mind just as soundly as I am in hers. Tell me, is she angry, sad, frustrated? Do you truly know?"

"Why should I care?"

Quatre instantly appeared. "Because you have to understand what state she is in to know how to approach her. To put it in your terms, le Loup, you need to counteract however she feels."

"I will not play an actor for her. The idea is preposterous."

"Then you will just leave her to her fate?" Trowa murmured.

"She is within my forest. Nothing will happen to her there. She will find that it is quite impossible to leave. So, yes, let her do what she will with her tears." With that final statement Heero left the room with just as much bravado has he had walked in with. He never even hesitated opening the door and slamming it shut.

Trowa and Quatre looked at one another for a moment before Trowa sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"Well?" Quatre murmured. "What do you see?"

"Duo cutting off her path."

The answer startled Quatre. He had been waiting for some prediction of the future. Since the future was nothing in the present, Trowa had always been able to see with clarity.

"How do you know that?"

Trowa smiled. "He has not done it yet. I only assume he is attempting to now since he will in just a moment."

"Why do you insist on being cryptic?" Quatre sighed heavily, not particularly in the mood for Trowa's odd sense of humor.

"Because it cannot be expressed physically and I am just that."

Quatre rolled his eyes. "_Just_."

Trowa began to fade into his surroundings as he raised a hand in farewell to Quatre for the moment. "It is going to rain soon; I suspect you might want to do something about that so Heero's little wife will not fall ill."

Quatre just nodded vaguely, already focused on the barest warmth that blew across his skin. Duo was definitely in the area.

(O)(O)(O)

"You."

Perfect lips parted. "Yes, me."

"Forgive my temperamental disposition but truly, monsieur, you are the last man on earth I wish to be with at the moment."

"You interest me, _petite_, but not in my usual manner. Let me assure you, I shall remain out of character for you," Duo drawled with a sexy smile.

Relena raised an eyebrow.

"Very well," he admitted. "I will try to remain as much out of character as possible. I am very stuck in my ways, you see."

"As it seems you all are."

"Ah, you are beginning to categorize us. I assume you know which ones we are?"

"I have a fairly good idea."

Duo smiled and sat himself down on a nearby fallen tree. He blended into his surroundings in a suggestive way. He seemed less sophisticated than he had appeared in the soft, upholstered chair and had adopted the untamed allure of the forest.

"There are a few hundred of us left. We tend to spread out and remain quiet in order to survive, you must understand. Bloody Christianity."

"Are you saying there is no one God?"

"How am I to know? How are any of us to know? Ask Trowa, he has the answer to anything that does not truly exist. Though, I doubt he would tell you. Damn man likes to play God himself at times. Perhaps _he_ is God."

Relena collapsed on a log a few feet away. "If he is then I think we should inform the Pope so he can try to lead his people towards a safer religion."

Duo raised his hands with a slow smile that only touched the corners of his mouth. "None of us have divine power. Just power. Your husband is the closest thing to a real god we have. He is the only one with collective power."

"Collective power? How?" Relena demanded, wiping a tear that slipped from her cold eyelashes.

"He is our leader; soon to be our king since his father…stepped down. We look up to him for advice and leadership."

Relena nearly snorted. "I cannot see how your species has not died out yet."

"Ah, _ma petite_, it is unfortunate that in order to be a good leader a man does not have to be a good husband. I have been your husband's second for centuries now and believe me, age has tamed him significantly."

"Well, I suppose I will find out in another few centuries." This caused Relena to lower her face into her hands as she bent over her lap.

Duo stood and walked over to her side and sat down once more. He hadn't made a sound while moving. One flawless hand reached out and with long, adept fingers, he began to stroke some of her hair back and smooth out the wrinkles in the dress's material on her back. Relena began to sob.

"I do not want this."

"Be honest, my dear," Duo pleaded softly. "You did not want choice taken from you, not your mortality."

Relena sniffed but nodded blindly. "But does that not mean that I have had my choice taken from me for eternity?"

Duo threw his head back and laughed softly, the air around them almost sweltering for a moment before the cool, fall breeze blew it away. "I do think you and Trowa would make excellent companions. If you can be friends with nothing I suppose."

"It wouldn't be any different from now."

"I am your friend and Quatre, you would adore him would you give him a chance and I as well."

"Please, I am fine. There is no need to touch me," Relena murmured as kindly as she could.

Duo chuckled. "You might not love your husband but you are truly the perfect woman for him."

"If he does not like other men touching his wife then why were you allowed to just now?"

This stopped Duo and Relena stood and straightened out her dress. "He could care less where I am and who I was with. Here I am with the male version of Aphrodite and he is probably sitting in his study that I have never seen doing absolutely nothing of importance!"

Duo stood with all the elegance and grace of a cat. The sigh he let out was one of regret. "Please, my lady, take these words to heart: we may not be gods, but that does not mean we are to be fooled with."

The conviction in the steps he took towards Relena forced her to stumble back a few steps. Fear lit up in her eyes, replacing all the sorrow and hurt she had felt.

"Until next time, _ma cher_," Duo whispered as he reached out for the side of her face.

With the merest brush of his fingertips against her cheek she collapsed to the ground, an invisible timer already ticking away above her heart.

(O)(O)(O)

"Duo!" Quatre exclaimed.

Duo didn't even flinch as his close friend nearly broke into hysterics.

"What if she dies?"

"Then she dies."

"For a man who is able to love all men and women I find it shocking that you can disregard her so."

"She will not die."

"You cannot reverse your own spells!" Quatre yelled.

Trowa watched the blond pace back and forth with unease in his eyes. He had truly not seen this in the picture. He hated to watch Quatre suffer emotionally. The blond beauty was his only link to the real world and he felt his own chest hurt when Quatre's did.

Wufei remained silent, his back against the wall, arms folded, head down. Eyes always closed. "Duo did what was right."

"I am not interested in what you think is right!" Quatre bellowed and then stopped immediately. Thunder issued sharply after a bolt of lightning struck nearby. A fierce blush broke out against Quatre's skin and he took a few deep breaths to compose himself. Never, never, had he felt this enraged. But then again, never had Duo abused his power so. "If no one goes out there to save her then I will."

The study door opened and Heero stormed in. "You will do what?" he questioned, looking around at the assembled elders. "You will do _what_?" he demanded again.

Quatre turned away from Heero with no explanation and walked over to the window that Trowa was standing by. Trowa lowered his eyes, Wufei remained unmoved and Duo waved a pale hand nonchalantly.

"Where is Relena?"

"Do you care?" Duo nearly hummed.

The seductive voice had an edge to it that made Heero worry. "What did you do to her?"

Duo shrugged and began to curl the tip of his braid around an index finger with slow, revolving motions.

"Nothing that cannot be undone."

Heero strode over to Duo and lifted the man up by his collar, bringing striking violet eyes to level with steely blue ones.

"You want her?" Duo whispered, lowering his lashes for a moment. The moment he brought his eyes up to Heero's again he revealed all in the single look. "Go get her."

Heero dropped Duo with shaking hands. "What have you done? I cannot undo that spell, Duo!" he roared.

Quatre flinched and lowered his head as rain began to pour.

"And why can you not? Just moments ago you raged at me, forced me to reveal her location, just to turn around and declare you do not care enough to be able to reverse my simple work?"

"I do not_ love_ her!"

"Then why does it bother you?" Duo demanded. He stood up in all his glory, sex mixing with power and strength. "Admit it, our gallant wolf, that this woman is one of a kind and not even you are cold enough to deny her. Forgive me if I felt this was the only way to free you from yourself."

Heero's shoulders fell. "I have barely earned respect for her, admiration for her, Duo. I do not love her."

Another sharp resonation of lightning and thunder. Heero looked around the room and growled deep in his throat. "Leave, all of you, and if a single one of you dares to come back without invitation, it will be the last decision you will ever make."

"Time is running out," Duo breathed against Heero's neck as he glided out of the room. Wufei strode out without a word, just as he had come in. Quatre and Trowa were simply gone. One with the breeze and the other into nothingness.

"My lord?" the elderly maid murmured hesitantly, slipping into the living room. "I was just looking for the lady, my lord, and she is nowhere to be found. Should I send someone outside to retrieve her for dinner?"

"I will get her myself," Heero assured. "Set the table for only two."

(O)(O)(O)

A powerful wolf shot between trees and dashed around bushes. Eyes narrowed and flanks bulging, the creature ran as though the gates of hell were behind him. His eyes remained trained upon nothing, his nose never twitching for a lead. He knew where he was going.

In mid run, the wolf's form cracked and popped into the form of a human taking the last great strides into a walk as he came across the body of a woman, soaked, lying lifeless on the forest floor. Heero felt powerless as he collapsed to his knees next to the barely breathing female. She was turning bluish and her lips had lost almost all of their color. Placing a slightly quivering hand over her chest a groan of defeat slipped past his lips.

It was already too late. She had moments left, if that. The spell was wearing out and taking her life with it. Desperation would not save her and Heero was unable to abandon that emotion.

He was going to kill Duo. Slowly. He was going to make that man understand the pain, the agony and the absolute horror Heero was feeling now before he finished the sorry creature off. If she survived, he would make sure Duo barely did. His hate and anger momentarily overtook his despair until he felt the heartbeat under his fingers began to beat erratically, fighting desperately to continue to live.

"I cannot undo this," Heero lamented as he lowered his head further down in defeat. Rain poured over his face and onto his cold hands.

…

_Ah, my son, there was a time when I firmly believed I did not need your mother around. I was younger then. You can only survive so long in this cold world alone before it starts to consume you. I love your mother and that does not make me a weak person. It makes me stronger, in fact. If she died today, I would go with her. My world would be gray, lifeless and frankly, I just do not belong here without her. Never deny yourself the necessity of a mate, son. I can see it in you already, the determination to stand alone. Do not suffer so needlessly. Falling in love is not taking the easy way out. Believe me. Heero, you and I do not belong on this earth without our other halves. It is simply…our fate._

…

Heero gritted his teeth against the memory. His father had gone when his mother had died. They had left him both alone in a world that was just as cruel and as unrelenting as his father had described. But it was still an existence, and that was more than Heero's father had to say. Love had killed him. That's all love did in the end.

_You can only survive so long…before it starts to consume you…gray, lifeless…_

"_Mon Dieu,_" Heero whispered as he stared past the rain and past the forest. He had become the demon his father has always feared to become himself.

Another erratic thud brought him out of his trance. Relena had the same long hair his mother used to have, about the same color, too. She was tiny like his mother and even though her lips were pale, they were still gentle…like his mother's had been. She needed someone to take care of her, someone to protect her. And those were two things Heero could do.

With a deep breath to steady himself Heero lowered his mouth to hers. Pausing, just a breath away he closed his eyes and prayed. To anything. Anyone with power greater than him.

"Please," he begged in a husky voice. "Let her live."

(O)(O)(O)

AN: I really am so sorry for the lengthy wait between updates. I wanted this chapter to be thought out and as near to error free as possible (I'm sure I missed a few anyways!) but I thank you all for your patience. I hope it will pay off. Every bit of feedback was truly great to read whether it was encouragement or tidbits of trivia/knowledge. I would love to thank the following readers/reviewers: **kim, Mazza, Kitten** (thanks for the interesting facts, I regret to say that I am not about to do the research on details in the story for a non-publishable piece of work. I would truly like to hear your thoughts on the content of the chapter, however!) **Grdiang31, silver-eyed, mirah, iczy, Trysta, sanctuary, Alaskantiger, gundamgirl1818, Reignashii, heaven'sgirl, saki, Mini Nicka, aidenrae, hashiba42, Animouse03, **and **Morrighan of Crimson and Sable.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Five_

Quatre's eyes widened just slightly at the abrupt news. The timing certainly could not have been worse.

"I need your help," Heero pointed out.

Quatre nodded and frowned, his delicate hand coming up to his chin to think. "How much time do we actually have?"

"Only a matter of an hour or so. It is nearly six o'clock."

"I will set the cook to work and make sure everything gets prepared. You need to wake Relena up."

"I have tried. It is almost like she is lost in a trance."

Quatre looked back over his shoulder to where her bedchamber was. "Call Duo then; get him to undo the rest of this. We cannot afford any mortals suspecting strange happenings around you and your reputation."

Heero nodded in agreement. "Duo is the last one I wish to speak to at this moment," he murmured.

Quatre put a fleeting hand on Heero's broad shoulder. "There is absolutely no excuse for what he did, I stand firmly in that accusation but his intentions behind the volatile action, as they always are, are pure and honest. He will help you in this and be fairly repentant I should think."

"He had better be."

Quatre took his hand away and began to descend the stairs, already calling to one of the maids to set the dinner table for guests.

"Heero?"

Heero glanced over his shoulder as he heard Duo walking up the stairs and his name being called.

"Hn?"

The braided man seemed a little dimmed as he stepped up the stairs, a little more human than usual. "Did you speak directly to her when you tried to wake her?"

"I did not think I would have to speak to a person to wake them," Heero retorted. "They are asleep…"

"It should be obvious that she is not."

Heero just rolled his eyes and followed Duo into the bedchamber which was dimly lit and comfortably warmed by a small fire in the hearth. Duo smiled softly; he knew Heero would not have just tossed Relena on the bed and left her. His friend's scent lingered near the bed implying he had tucked her in and checked her pulse and forehead several times.

"It is not like you to worry."

"Not like me?" Heero barked. "I am in a constant state of worry whenever you are around. Were I human I would have had an anxiety attack or my heart would have failed me by now."

Duo motioned for Heero to sit down on the bed. "You need to speak to her, convince her to wake up."

"Convince her? What in the world could I say to convince her to wake?"

Duo shrugged and then bent his head to the one of Relena's ears. He whispered something Heero could not even catch and then straightened up. "That should help. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, actually, make this house feel lived in like we were a couple, in love, that sort of thing."

Duo threw his head back at that and laughed, the temperature momentarily soaring to a blistering, sweltering heat. "You ask a tall request of me but I shall go at it. This house will be overfilling with love and fidelity by the time our unexpected guests arrive."

Heero just nodded and sighed as his companion strode out of the bedchamber and shut it, leaving the master of Chateau le Loup alone with his young bride.

"Relena," he tried timidly, his voice almost cracking. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Relena, you have to wake up. Your family will be here shortly and they need to see you are alive and well…and awake," he added awkwardly. "I know these last few weeks have been traumatizing and unhappy, trust me; they have been the hardest weeks of my life yet." Heero sighed and sat back looking up at the canopy of the bed. "I have never had a wife or a lover. This is just as new to me as it is to you. I am going to make infinite mistakes…When one has a father like mine, there is very little chance to learn from him. I need you to wake up, Relena. I haven't a clue as to what I am supposed to do with your family if you are not standing next to me. You already know how I am with people and truly, you cannot just leave me to this alone. It is _your_ family after all." Heero moved to run a hand through his hair but just as he went to lift it, a small, soft one covered it.

In shock, Heero looked down and saw Relena smiling with sleepy eyes. "I would never be that cruel but I must admit, it would be a sight worth seeing."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "This is your family we are talking about here, not mine. They are here to see you."

Relena sat up and waved a hand in dismissal. "No, they are here to see you and what you own and what you are like as a person. My sisters and mother are at least. My brother and father are coming to see what kind of husband you are."

"A brother? He was not at our wedding."

"It is rare that he comes around. Perhaps you have heard of him though. He goes by the name of Count Zechs Marquis."

Heero sat back and frowned immediately. "How old is your brother?"

"He does not look a day older than thirty though he should be much older than that. He is my adopted brother."

"Was he ever informed of the wedding?"

"No, we were unable to contact him, why?"

Heero went to run his fingers through his hair again as Relena stopped him for a second time. "That is going to make you go bald."

"It would grow back," Heero retorted irritably. "Zechs Marquis is one of us. He and I have been…in the process of unfriendly negotiation for years."

"He is a god?"

"No, we are not gods, my dear," Heero said in a remarkable tender voice. "We were mistaken for earth-bound gods for a few centuries. You are thinking of Zeus and Hera; we were never any of those. Anyone who discovered our powers just spread the word that he had seen some unnamed god and thus we kept the belief alive longer than it would have without us. We still are not sure what we are; just that we are unique and at the moment, very unpopular with the Church."

Relena nodded, analyzing the new information. "But how was Millardo able to appear so young, an adolescent?"

"We can all appear any way we want to. If it suited your parents we could age subtly each time they saw us. It would simply be an illusion. Simple deceit such as that is a practice we are all familiar with. Quatre has had to age to his clients in the merchant industry and has faked his death several times over only to have some mysterious son that looks identical appear and take up the business."

Relena smiled a lopsided grin. "Us mortals are gullible it seems."

"You are no longer truly mortal, nor immortal. And you cannot blame yourself; a possibility to this bizarre extent is one that is not worth being pondered over unless you wish to find yourself locked in an asylum."

Relena glanced over at the clock that was ticking against the wall. "What time were they supposed to arrive?"

"Less than an hour."

"I need to get dressed. We are not going to fool them Heero. This relationship is just as cold as it was when it began. Mother and father and Millardo are going to be very upset."

"Marquis is going to be upset anyways and Duo has set to work making the house feel as though two lovers inhabit it."

"That seems like the least he could do," Relena sighed as she went to get out of the bed.

Heero helped her with the covers and offered her the robe that was hanging off of one of the bedposts. She shrugged into it and Heero was alarmed by how the thing just dripped off of her; it wasn't that large of a robe…

"Have you been eating well?"

Relena glanced at Heero with timid eyes as she made her way to the armoire to pick out a dress. "Well enough though not as much as I am accustomed to."

"If you dislike the food it is in your power to tell the cook what to prepare."

"No, it has simply just been a lack of appetite lately. I suppose I need to adjust."

"You are depressed." It was a statement that held strong finality. Heero easily recognized the signs.

"Not depressed," Relena argued as she selected an elegant dark blue dress. "Just unhappy for a short while."

Heero bowed his head and bit back any kind of rebuttal that was trying to force its way from his mouth. "I will leave you to change and I beg of you," he rasped. "Please eat a full meal tonight."

When Relena turned around in shock at the desperate and caring words, her withdrawn husband was gone from the room.

(O)(O)(O)

"What a lovely home…" Relena's mother sighed as they stepped into the pleasantly warmed house that held the faint scent of cinnamon and nutmeg. Her aging father's arm was around his wife's shoulders and he nodded with satisfaction though he remained silent.

What wasn't there to be content about? Before the guests was a house filled with color and life. They could just feel the newlywed's affection and happiness. There was a man's coat hung up next to a smaller woman's that implied they took walks together and both seemed to fully inhabit the house. Heero's strong arm was wrapped securely around his wife's small waist and despite the undeniable possession in those strong fingers, there was a touch of gentleness in the way his palm cupped the curve of her hip. Relena seemed to have a healthier glow to her cheeks than normal, her eyes alight and sparkling. She stood close to Heero and only went to move as he released her to greet her parents.

"Hello Mother," she greeted with a hug and a kiss upon each rouged cheek. She greeted her father with an even bigger hug and a more fervent kiss upon his cheek, though just one. She held each of her two older sisters at an arms length and they greeted each other with smiles.

Then Millardo stepped through the door. Immediately ice-blue eyes flew to stormy blue ones and they locked onto each other; an enemy to an enemy.

"Welcome, Count Marquis," Heero spoke in a gravely calm voice.

"Ah, Monsieur le Loup, a pleasure indeed. I am glad to see you…" _alive_, "well."

"You know each other?" Relena's mother asked.

"Yes, Monsieur le Loup and I have been competitors in our line of business for years. I suppose all of that should be behind us now since we have unknowingly become brothers."

Heero raised his chin slightly. He was not about to start any conflict in front of Relena's parents and neither was Zechs but it was obvious the man was taken aback and extremely perturbed. He was instantly in a bad position.

"And I love you both, so it would be best you two put aside your professional differences," Relena stressed though her eyes remained trained upon her older brother. "Heero," she said in a lighter voice. "Meet my sisters, Maria and Mercedes."

Both of the similar looking women though older and slightly plumper curtsied and smiled flirtatiously. Heero simply nodded.

"And I would be pleased if you referred to my family name," Zechs cut in. "Millardo Paix-Métier."

Heero bowed deeply and straightened back up. He would be the first to surrender he had decided. For Relena's sake. Their battle was an old one that had to be finished by the end of the night. He would not leave his wife in the middle of a feud regardless of their lack of true feelings for one another. Though, he admitted with a small frown, he would not mind seeing her smile at him like that everyday and stand so happily at his side, tucked under his shoulder. He was growing soft. Old and soft.

With a heavy sigh he motioned to the hallway on his right. "Dinner should be served if you would all care to follow me. I have a few colleagues that I invited to stay after a meeting we held today."

"Very good," Relena's father instantly approved. He was eager to see the company Heero kept.

The small group made their way down the candlelit hallway and turned into a large dining room brilliantly lit and warmed by a fire. Two men stood near one of the large windows, wine glasses in hand and talking quietly about some matter that had them both engaged actively in the conversation.

When Heero cleared his throat subtly both men turned.

"I would like you to meet two of my colleagues, Quatre Winner and Duo Maxwell."

"Quatre Winner? You look just like your father," Monsieur Paix-Métier exclaimed. "He and I were in business together for several years."

Quatre smiled brightly. "Strong blood, Monsieur Paix-Métier."

That statement caused the man to smile and nod. "Agreed."

Heero motioned for everyone to sit and as they all took their places Heero subtly reached out and took Relena's hand in his. _Stop worrying, _he commanded._ Everything will turn out fine. I promise._

Heero felt a surge of male pride and satisfaction as he watched his wife's shoulders lower just slightly. Duo winked subtly in Quatre's direction whose head moved just slightly to acknowledge the signal. Meanwhile, Zechs was studying Heero very, very carefully. His frosty eyes never wavering from his foe.

"Relena, dear, you are looking thinner than when I last saw you. Are you well?"

Zechs smirked, eagerly waiting his sister's answer.

"Oh of course mother. It is just that there has been so much to do lately and I suppose I did catch a slight cold from being outside a bit too long just the other day. But really, I could not be any better!"

This pleased her mother and Zechs sat back. It disappointed him that his most beloved sister was such a good liar and for the sake of such a man as Heero.

"How many nieces and nephews can I be expecting?" the eldest sister, Mercedes asked as she began to sip on her wine.

"Yes, and how soon?" Maria added in.

Relena sat back in her seat considerably and Heero put his wine down just a tad bit too quickly. Duo resisted the urge to laugh to the point of pain and Quatre had to control any physical reaction he would have had as well.

"My work keeps me away a little too often to be thinking about children at the moment," Heero answered slowly.

"But when the time comes we will be sure to inform you," Relena finished brightly. "Besides, we are still both fairly young."

Zechs glanced over at Duo and smiled a predator's smile. Duo smiled back just as fiercely before bringing the wine glass up to his lips. As he closed his eyes they followed the line of Zechs' shirt buttons.

Coughing to hide his alarm, Zech brought one gloved hand to his mouth for a distraction while the other one waved just slightly to counter the move Duo had made on him. _Dieu,_ now he remembered just why he hated that man so. Quatre smirked and forced himself to focus on his silverware momentarily.

And so went the dinner. Light conversation with perfectly answered questions. Relena and Heero formed a flawless team and countered any attack Zechs made with the help of Quatre and Duo to wreak havoc on his senses otherwise.

It was not until after dinner that Zechs asked to speak with Heero alone. With a quiet excuse and a reassuring kiss to his wife's forehead, Heero walked into the parlor after the long-haired man.

The moment the door shut the room began to freeze. Zechs whirled around. "Not for a moment will I allow you to tell me that it was my parents' idea to marry my sister to you."

"Of course not; they had no idea who I was. And I had no idea who she was. I had never even seen her until the day before the wedding."

"So, you did this the…" Zechs died out. He couldn't finish the statement aloud.

"Yes, I followed the ancient code. I sought out one of our matchmakers and sent him to find her."

Zechs put his face into his hand and shook his head. "So, we really must put this dispute behind us. We are brothers now and not just by mortal marriage."

"You should know me better than to think that I would ever marry willingly and without direction."

"Of course. You are a heartless beast."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "If you feel the need to be protective over your sister I can truly understand that much but I would ask you to stay out of my way; she is in my care now."

"Are you honestly caring for her?"

Heero's hands fisted and Zechs could feel the air being cut off from his lungs as he was reminded just how powerful the man was standing before him. "Yes, I am."

Zechs just growled and turned his back. "So, as to our little dilemma."

"We could come together, combine our clans. There has always been strength in numbers for our people especially now that we are endangered."

Zechs scoffed. "You are getting old; you are beginning to sound like your father."

"Our fathers if you recall correctly."

"They are dead now and for a reason that I will have you know is not old age."

Heero grinned wryly. "Yes, how could I forget?" He put each of his hands out, fingers splayed wide. "We have to put this power struggle aside. I ascend as their true leader in just a few weeks. Join me. I am willing to share the position."

"Because you never wanted it!"

"I was not born a leader."

The slightly taller man glared sharply at Heero, turning back around to stand at his fullest height. "A truce then. No more issues over territory. We share. No more battles and segregations. I will not lead your people and I will not have you leading mine."

"A ceasefire then?" Heero laughed bitterly. "Very unlike you."

"Would you put Relena between all of this then?"

"Not in a million years!" Heero bellowed instantly.

"Then we can agree on that much. A truce. We need to return before they miss us too much. We cannot draw suspicion upon ourselves."

"Agreed, we have left Duo unattended far too long. God knows the damage he can do."

"You need to keep him on a tighter leash. Damned fiend has been harassing me all night."

Heero couldn't hold back the smile that came to his face. "You were provoking him."

"That demon does not need provoking. He is in a constant state of arousal."

Zechs and Heero marched back in silence to the dining hall where everyone was standing and chatting lightly. Both of the sisters were hanging off of every word Duo was feeding them about how women should be treated even after marriage and Quatre was keeping Relena's parents distracted with talk of his company and his father's legacy. Relena was talking lightly with the cook and holding Guerrier in her arms. Heero frowned. The pup was getting white spots. Bizarre.

"Ah, you two are back!" Quatre exclaimed.

"I think it is time we leave," Relena's father announced. "Thank you for your wonderful hospitality and I assure you, my dear, you can be expecting an invitation to our house again sometime soon."

"That would be lovely papa."

Heero stood back from the hugs and kisses and watched in sadness as Relena basked in the middle of it. She needed love and family. He had taken both from her. As Heero nodded and shook hands he held tighter to the father's.

"She misses you sorely. Please, I would implore you invite her home soon."

The same green-blue eyes that his wife possessed stared back at him gravely. "Thank you," the older man replied. "For caring for her so diligently. It takes a true man to see what his wife needs, for it is not always her husband. I will make sure the invite comes soon. You are a good man Monsieur le Loup."

As Heero released the man's hand another came into his grasp. His hand froze and became stiff as he allowed it to.

"And a good liar. Until we meet again, Heero."

Zechs released the grip easily and for the briefest of seconds he brushed up against Duo. The braided man breathed out steam for a moment, hot mixing with cold. He titled his head and subtly blew warm air onto Zechs' neck causing the man to grimace and retreat.

At last, Heero and Relena stood in the doorway watching the family as well as Quatre and Duo leave. The warm atmosphere was beginning to fade and Relena desperately wanted to stand close to Heero again. She had enjoyed the acting, had been able to pretend for a moment that it was real. But all too soon the night had ended and things were back to the way they had begun.

"Thank you for putting their minds to rest," she murmured.

"I spoke with your father. We will be paying them a visit sometime very soon. I hope that will give you something to look forward to."

"Heero," she whispered turning to face him. She was startled for the second time that day and was relieved to see he had not disappeared this time. "Thank you."

"You must be exhausted," he replied. "Perhaps you should consider retiring for the evening."

Relena bowed her head. "I suppose I could fall back asleep if I wanted to." She was wide awake. "Whatever happened the day you were injured?"

"Your dear brother."

A blush stole across Relena's face and she focused her attention out the window, "I sort of figured that." She sighed forlornly. "Do you suppose it will always be this way?"

"What?" Heero asked for clarification.

"This marriage. Should I try to accept it as it is or should I just keep holding on a bit longer?"

Heero felt a sharp barb wrench into his heart and his stomach twist painfully. "You…" he stopped. He could not lie to her. "I need time," he tried again. "I need time," he repeated.

Relena nodded numbly, her fragile hand coming up to touch the intricate woodwork around the windowsill.

Heero felt a million miles away from Relena in that moment and out of desperation he spoke. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To see my parents. It is about time you met them."

(O)(O)(O)

AN: I find myself constantly apologizing for the tardiness of my updates. So I will make this one disclaimer: after every AN there will follow a, 'I am sorry for the late update.' With that said, the support was overwhelming and I do hope this chapter cleared up a few issues, clouded others and was overall entertaining. Less stressful of course. Next chapter should be interesting. Please, tell me what you thought of this chapter. The feedback has been remarkable. Oh, and for all you French buffs I am sorry about the shoddy Peacecraft translation…hehe, I may be Italian but I am horrible at French. Thank you so much to: LoisLane95, TianaFX, Lurker, RedLion2, Stratagirl, trinara, Katherine, Reignashii, Mini Nicka, z, Animouse03, grdiang3l, iczy, Rach, Alaskantiger, Kim, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, animeboy-12, aidenrae, rEi LauGh a lOts, silver-eyed, hashiba42, heaven'sgirl, saki, GundamFan, and 4everfanfic.


	6. Chapter 6

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Six_

Relena knew what she was doing was extremely forbidden but she was past caring. She had been living in silence for days now. She had lost count of the hours, the days, and the month even. Time did not exist in Chateau le Loup. Just silence and despair.

She buried her face into the soft pillow under her head and inhaled deeply. Her arms instinctually tightened around the comforting object and she was able to imagine for a brief moment that she was happy and in love. The subtle masculine scent was soothing as she nuzzled further into the down pillow. A final, fleeting warning sounded through her head.

_What if he came home?_

But that thought vanished just as quickly as it had arose. Heero had only been gone two nights. He would be gone for several more. With a final sigh of contentment and agony intertwined Relena relinquished her control on consciousness. With his scent still saturating the air she drew in, her dreams were sweet and alluring. Everything her life was not.

(O)(O)(O)

Heero approached through the back way towards the house. He ducked into a small glade of trees where a tiny pond normally fed by a creek sat empty and swallow. Two statues stood side by side, hands linked and faces looking down upon whoever stood before them. The roguish leader stepped up to the statues and absently reached out and touched the sleeve of the woman's outfit.

_Yes, my son?_

Heero looked away, sensing those unseeing, marble eyes on him.

_Has she spoken to you since I left?_

_Your wife?_

_Yes._

_Yes, Relena has come out several times to speak with us. She has been very understanding of the unique situation,_ his mother spoke in a rather distant voice. She was hiding something.

"But?" Heero demanded, an impatient hand flying up to his hip.

_She is awfully distressed, Heero,_ the father cut in. _She's been worrying over this letter that she received two days ago. She hasn't parted with it since she first read it._

This caused Heero to shift uncomfortably. He had gotten a sinking feeling yesterday evening that she was more distant from him than usual. His mind had trouble locating her whereabouts and he began to worry that she had fled physically or her soul had. It seemed it was merely her mind that had run.

"Do you know the contents of the letter?"

_No, we dared not ask after she told us it was from her mother. She seems so upset. The house has been groaning since the letter came and there is this chill that has settled that touches us. You must go to her, Heero, put whatever differences you have aside. She needs you right now._

Heero glanced wistfully back at the house. She needed him. He sighed. No, she needed a real husband. One that would know all the right things to say and do. He just brought more questions into her life—more uncertainty.

_Go to her now, boy._

Heero glared up at his father and felt his fists clenching tightly. "It is late in the evening and I am sure she has retired to her bed. It would be utter nonsense to wake her up at this hour…" But even as Heero reached out as he found himself doing every few minutes, he could not sense her presence in her bedchamber. She was nearby though…

"I just wanted to make sure that there was not any piece of information that you might have given her that could have caused…distress."

_Not in a million years, my dear. She is frightened enough as it is. All she needs to know she will in time. It is not our position to decide what she is exposed to and what she is not. You are her husband, Heero, and her link into this world; it is for you to decide._

Heero heeded his mother's words with relief and also trepidation. He was fast losing that control over his wife as his friends and the environment overruled his decree that she remain ignorant for a while. Well, she sure wasn't now.

"Good night then," Heero murmured with a sketchy bow before he hurried off towards the house. He felt an awful need to read that damned letter.

(O)(O)(O)

She was not in her bedchamber as he had suspected but his feet still led him upstairs. Guerrier was following him with a curious look in his eyes. The pup was growing whiter by the day—iridescent almost. Heero was careful to tread quietly instead of stomping his boots against the wood floor in his usual manner. His hand was on the knob of his own bedchamber before he was aware of where his senses were leading him.

"Impossible…" he whispered though he knew that was obviously not the case. His bond with Relena was strong and he was certain now that he had found her whereabouts.

As he opened the door the sight that greeted him nearly brought him to his knees. The poor girl was curled up in a vulnerable position, pillow tucked tightly against her body, hair splayed about her like some fey angel cast down to earth. In her right hand was a crumpled piece of paper. Ah ha! Heero strode over carefully and bent, breath held, to retrieve the letter. He found it particularly easy to snatch away from the relaxed curl of her hand.

Using one of his millions of talents, he adjusted his eyes to read in the dark. What he read sickened him in ways he had never experienced before:

_My dearest Relena,_

_It was indeed a pleasure to see what great abundance and happiness you are now surrounded by. Oh, if only we were so fortunate. Your sisters approve greatly of your dapper young husband and your father does, too. Please, do not speak or write a word of this letter to your father; I do not want him to fret so. You see, my dearest, the Autumn Ball is to be in a few weeks and your father's colleagues have invited us. It shames your father to think that we do not have the funds to attend the festival. It is imperative your poor father makes it to this event for the sake of his very job. I know you understand, my Relena. And I know that your wealthy husband will not mind sending us just a small amount of money to get us through these rough times. I hate to be such a harsh creature but two thousand would be just about what we need. I know that price seems horrendous but this means so much to your father and I know how you love him so._

_Sincerely,_

_Your loving mother_

Heero saw straight through the letter has Relena obviously had. He knew how fiercely she loved her father and wanted him to attend the festival but she knew as well as he did that not a penny of the money would go to benefit him. He'd wear an old suit and rent a carriage while his wife dressed in jewels and silk. Heero sighed heavily before quickly holding his breath, glancing down at Relena nervously.

As quietly as he had entered he left.

Heero stormed down the stairs, wishing his mother-in-law was there for him to lecture. Didn't she see what she was doing to her very husband? The poor man was probably dying of shame or heartbrokenness. Maybe both, Heero mused, if the man was still able to love such a creature. The idea that Relena so humble and so selfless gave Heero a raw insight into her childhood. He could see her memories vaguely. An abandoned child, locked in her room, ear pressed against the door to listen to the music drifting up the stairs. She would gaze longingly out her window as guests would leave. A night without dinner and company. So many nights passed where her door would be locked up tight until the next morning when her stomach ached from hunger and her mouth parched with thirst.

But the other sisters? Heero slapped his quill into his inkwell. Damn them both. He knew how they had been treated. Like princesses. So why had Relena suffered so? What made her so different from the others?

Zechs Marquis. The brother she adored so much. Had he known she was unique and suffering? Is that why he had come to her aid in the form of a brother? How had he been able to fit in so fluidly?

"Damn you Zechs. You have all the answers to the questions I have been asking helplessly and you refuse to relinquish them for the sake of my own wife."

Heero scrawled out a handsome check of doubled the desired amount and roused his carrier from his sleep a few rooms over in the servant's quarters. "I want this delivered to my parents in law by tomorrow morning, is that clear? I shall reward you for your work."

The young servant boy was all too eager to comply but Heero hardly noticed what he was doing or saying himself. He was so lost in his thoughts. Had Relena been an illegitimate child? She did look slightly different from her sisters though siblings could do that without an affair thrown into the family.

He found himself at his desk again this time jotting down words instead of numbers. Hard, angular letters poured out onto the paper and Heero demanded satisfaction from Marquis. They had a common interest now, though Zechs would sooner die than let Heero share in the responsibility.

But Heero wanted to. God, he wanted to more than anything else. She consumed his mind and his dreams. He was slightly comforted when he walked into the house that smelled softly of her and held her presence on every piece of furniture. It brought him a sense of peace to know his mate was safe in sound in his lair.

This caused Heero to flinch visibly as he halted his letters. She was no mate. She was his wife, damn it! No wonder her so-called brother was hesitant to let his care for his sister into the hands of a man that had spent more time as a wolf than a man. He was beginning to think and act like one. She needed a home not a lair. He was this beast locking his chosen fair maiden into his dungeon to keep her there unhappy for his own contentment. He had heard the fairytales before but had never once thought he'd live one.

A callused hand ran through his hair as he set the quill back down and tore up the letter. It was no use. If he wasn't man enough to get the answers from his wife himself he was better off just being indifferent. He might fail as a lover and as a gentleman but if he failed as a husband in the barest sense of the word, he felt he would have failed at something very critical in his life.

And failure was something Monsieur le Loup did not sit well with.

(O)(O)(O)

He heard her gasp before he looked up to see her reaction, but the gasp told him all he needed to know. In his wife's pale hands sat a letter with a very familiar script. Relena looked up at Heero and shook her head.

"Oh, Heero…no…" she lamented. "Surely you did not…"

Heero stood as he had planned to and walked over to where Relena stood, letter in hand and tear in eye. He plucked the letter from her fingers and strode back over to the fireplace before throwing the letter into the blazing hollow.

"I have more money than they know. Four thousand was a penny."

"It is not the money, Heero…"

"I also ordered a brand new suit for your father at a men's apparel shop near your family's residence. All they have to do is size it and he will be dressed better than your mother I suspect."

That single tear escaped her eye and she moved quickly to wipe it away. That had silenced her but he could see out of the corner of her eye how distressed she was. "Now that my mother knows what you will do for her it will never end."

"It will, when she needs it most and not her husband."

Relena shook her head. "That woman is the devil!" she exclaimed in a fit of anger that Heero rarely saw from her. "She has used my poor father as every excuse! And he sits idly by and lets her do this…" she broke down into a quiet sob and collapsed in the armchair nearby.

"Well, what silences him? The man obviously has some spine to him!" Heero argued back, feeling he was coming upon a major discovery.

"Because of _me_!!" Relena yelled into the silence. "I am the reason he has had to deal with this since the day I was born."

Heero rose to his feet once again and without hesitation, knelt down at her side. "Relena, this makes absolutely no sense to me. Please, explain to me so I can figure a way to deal with this."

"I thought you would have guessed," she sniffed. "That I look nothing like the rest of my family."

"I noticed but that is not rare of siblings…"

"I am not my mother's child. My father strayed for me. He had been in love with this woman since he was a child and they were separated by arranged marriages. Millardo is also his son but Father was able to adopt him back into the family after he had grown into a man. Millardo happened just before my father was married so my mother let it go as long as Millardo stayed with my father's lover. But…when I was born my father was forced to take me on to avoid the threats his lover's husband was issuing to her if she kept me."

"So there is blood between you and Millardo?"

"Yes, strong blood. We were not ordinary people like our father. We were like our mother, so strange yet so gentle. When I allowed to meet her on rare occasions I would cling to her as though she were life itself. My mother, the one I had to live with, detested me. I was everything she hated. On several occasions she tried to poison me but Millardo had managed to step in rather gracefully each time since he was grown and had access to the family," she murmured through a choked throat. Her eyes wouldn't meet Heero's and in desperation, he reached out and clasped both of her hands firmly in his. "Eventually she gave up on that and started to keep me around as a sort of reminder as to why my father couldn't deny her anything she wanted."

"Relena…" Heero rasped. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and he held tighter to her hands. He tried to tilt his head so he could get a better look at her face. "Do you remember your real mother's name by any chance, dear?" he tried as soothingly as possible.

"How could I forget it?" Relena laughed. "Everyone called her Lady Une."

This caused Heero to sit back a little and his calming grip lost its softness. Relena looked down at her husband for a moment and searched his eyes for the sudden change in demeanor.

"Your mother was Lady Une?" he whispered.

"Yes…"

He stood abruptly and ran a hand through his hair. "Are all fates plotting against us? We are destined for one another yet everything is getting in the way!"

Relena had never heard such sorrow and desperation in her husband's cold and solid voice. Never so much doubt and hurt.

She stood, fresh tears trekking down her face. "Heero, I am so afraid to even ask," she cried gently.

Heero snapped out of his reverie for a moment, long enough to see how much more hurt and confused Relena was. His hurt was old and callused, but hers was still so fresh and new. He opened his arms to her and let her press her face into his chest. He caught a glimpse of their reflection in the mirror and he sought to hold her the way he had often seen his father hold his mother. Awkwardly and slowly, he watched his reflection as he lifted one hand up to cup the back of her head and the other wrap around her waist securely. He lowered his head atop hers and felt and listened to her cry.

He couldn't feel hate for the small woman in his arms. Only love and regret that she had to be a part of Lady Une's bloodline. And Zechs, too. Well, that sure explained a lot. Love? Heero stiffened for a moment. Love? No, not now. Not when the world seemed so bent against them.

"Just tell me," Relena whispered into her husband's unyielding chest. "Why you looked at me as though I had stabbed you in the heart when I spoke her name."

"My father and mother were matched together by the same man I sent to find you. I had never seen two people more in love," Heero murmured. "They lived for each other. My mother was my father's lifeline. Without her he was…nothing. As you know," Heero continued hesitantly. "My mother died and my father soon followed leaving me as the man before you."

Heero stopped and sighed heavily. He readjusted to hold Relena closer to his body. He bent a soft kiss to her head and pressed his firmly against hers as he closed his eyes and prayed for the best.

"Lady Une killed my mother."

Beyond his worst imaginings, he felt Relena go slack against his body. All her weight slumped as she took on a rag doll-like posture.

"Quatre!" Heero bellowed into the emptiness of the room.

A moment later the blond was beside him, helping to support the girl's craning neck. "Oh my…she has been under way too much stress lately. What happened?"

"Quatre, her real mother is Lady Une."

"W-what? I beg you pardon but for a moment I thought you said that her real mother was L-Lady…" Quatre died off and then looked down at the small woman. "Oh dear, she does bear a striking resemblance now that I look closely."

"Her brother in blood is Zechs. The poor creature was kept by her father's wife as a blackmailing device," Heero groaned as he allowed Quatre to help the girl into his arms.

"So…so…you are not cross with her at all?"

Heero looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. "How could I be?" he murmured. "She never laid a finger on my mother or my father…and…" Heero died off, staring intently at her soft face.

"And?" Quatre urged.

"Help me and pull down the covers on her bed. She feels cold to me."

Quatre's heart surged with joy as he caught the residue of Heero's last thoughts. _And…I love her_.

By God, the tiny woman had truly performed a miracle. She had tamed the beast's heart. The lithe blond eagerly helped Heero get Relena into bed and began to back away, smile soft and radiant on his face, as he watched Heero settle down on the coverlet next to her; his broad frame hunching over hers.

What had happened at the negotiations that brought him home with such a change in heart? Not a change, Quatre noticed. Just a confession of the heart.

"I do not know where to begin," Heero sighed mournfully.

"From where everything begins, Heero. The beginning."

Quatre's figure shimmered for a moment in the doorframe before he left one last parting piece of advice. _Start with your name, the rest will come._

Heero frowned and looked over his shoulder, knowing Quatre wasn't there but needing a desperate reprieve from the fragile doll under soft, fluffy covers.

"My name is Heero," he murmured gently as he began to toy with a strand of her hair. "I became Odin Lowe's son on a dark and stormy night that tore down a section of this house. I was never a complex child. I learned all the necessary literary skills from my mother and all the physical skills from my father. I never knew I had any abilities until I was well into adolescence and close to adulthood. I earned my name, le Loup, after my mother died. I loved her so much that it hurt to look at myself in the mirror, to stand in my own skin. I saw her when I looked at myself. So I became a wolf. For years. More years than I can count. I abandoned this home and this forest and stalked the forests of France and Spain and Italy in a span of time that seemed to never last a second but endured for eternity. I was not present for my father's death or funeral. I knew it would happen soon after my mother's. I was hell-bent on revenge but something stayed my hand. The woman was pregnant." Heero faltered. "With a girl," he sighed. "Had it been a boy I know I would not have shown mercy. It was a tiny little girl and I looked at the babe still growing and knew I could not take such a delicate, innocent and beautiful life. It was you," Heero choked. "I went back to my human form just days later upon summoning that I was to take up the role as clan leader. Twenty some odd years later here I am, a bitter man with sour memories of love turned cold and revenge stripped away. I sent the same man who had found my mother for my father, hoping he would bring me some docile creature with sturdy bones and a simple face that would provide me with some sense of peace and calm." Heero let got of the strand of hair he was holding onto. He reached out and brushed several wisps from her face. "The moment you stepped out of that carriage and approached me. When I knew it was you who was to be my wife, something came alive in me that scared me beyond all reason. Interest. Sexual. Companionable. It was a curiosity and a desire to own you in all fashions." Heero brought a hand up to his forehead and groaned. "But I am no orderly gentleman or compassionate lover. I am a wolf in a man's skin. I want a mate, not a wife. I wanted something far deeper than the words of a wedding and the superficial emotions mortals shared or even my parents. If I were to love…" Heero stopped.

So many words. So many memories. He had never spoken so much in his life and it shocked him what was coming out.

"If I were to love it would be so strong and so genuine that if one of us were to die, there would be no agony for the other for they would be dead, too. I am a coward for I fear to suffer alone after losing a loved one. When I love it will be something far more profound than even the deepest meaning of the word. I am a wolf," he rasped. "I do nothing in halves and when I say I want a mate…" He blinked his eyes fiercely to avoid any emotion from creeping forward. "I mean I want what I glimpsed in your eyes the day we met."

Heero lowered his head onto her stomach and listened to the echo of her heartbeat. He felt defeated. Drained. He had exposed himself and though she was unable to respond, he knew she had heard every word he spoke.

_My name is Relena. I was born a day after I met a wolf with peculiar blue eyes. I wanted to meet him, to find him, so I forced my way to life a month early. I wanted to thank him for his kindness and to show him that he should not so easily abandon love…_

Heero felt the first tear escape his left eye as he listened to his wife's distant voice speak. Destiny. Fate. Forces beyond his grasp had been trying to bring them together since before she was born. He felt humbled by her words and felt something he hadn't felt since his mother had been alive.

As he listened to her speak in his head, her soft voice reassuring and melodious the Master of Chateau le Loup, the wolf himself, found what he had been searching for since his mother's death. Silent tears fell from his eyes, his rigid shoulders relaxed, and he felt a sense of warmth surrounding his body, coaxing a sigh from him. The tortured wolf had found it at last.

Peace.

(O)(O)(O)

AN: so, no, I haven't died. I just blinked and suddenly it was the tail end of October. I am sorry for such a long wait between chapters and hopefully this kind of wait won't happen again. My muses went on vacation to Florida (they must be from New York originally) and I was just stuck with homework and studying and a severe lack of inspiration. So, anyways, thank you guy so much for your support and please, again, any feedback is truly appreciated! Thanks to RedLion2, Kim, X, Lauren, Kiyoko, GundamFan, Jessica, hashiba42, Trinara, heaven'sgirl, Lurker, flaming-amber, silver-eyed, grdiang3l, Mazza, 4everfanfic, Ine Coppens, TianaFX, iczy, Reignashii, Mini Nicka, Alaskantiger, aidenrae, Sanskrit, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, and Animouse03.


	7. Chapter 7

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Seven_

Heero looked up from some of his documents in his study when he heard his doorknob turning. Relena was holding a silver tray with two cups and a teapot atop it precariously. She slipped through the door and set the tray down on a vacant part of the desk.

"What is the occasion?" Heero murmured, looking up at his wife with wary eyes.

"I received a letter from my father," she started with a hopeful smile on her face. "He has invited me to come into Paris for a little while and stay with them."

"And…?"

"And," Relena clarified. "I wanted to make sure that you were fine with the idea."

"You wanted my permission?" Heero restated bluntly, sitting back in his chair.

"It is just that, only in these last two weeks has our marriage improved and to leave now…"

Heero shook his head. "No, I would never forbid from seeing your family," he said firmly. "I have spent many of your lifetimes alone; a few more days will not hurt."

"He, my father that is, was actually thinking for a couple of months…for the winter."

"Ah," Heero mused. His first instinct was to say absolutely not. How was he supposed to go back to an empty house? "I would have to have Quatre and Duo check up on you frequently…"

"Yes, I understand."

Heero looked down at the silver tray and folded his hands over his mouth. "And this is what you want?"

His young wife visibly flinched. "Y-yes, it is."

"Then it is not in my power to deny you."

"Pardon?"

Heero looked up at her. "It is not my goal in life to make you unhappy. If this will please you then I see no reason to deprive you of it."

The simple statement seemed to put Relena into a daze. "T-thank you."

Heero waved a hand in dismissal. He hated those two words. Especially when one meant them. Something in his chest was beginning to ache. The idea that Relena would be gone for months was unsettling and almost torturous.

The more he thought about it the hotter the room seemed to get and the more his stomach began to roil. He couldn't imagine life without her presence and their quiet evenings together before the fireplace. He had grown so used to her comforting nature being so close to him. Months? Were married couples supposed to be apart for months?

No. They weren't. Not if they felt the way Heero did about her. So Relena felt no more closer to him than when they first met. She wanted to go back for that long? She wanted to be away from him that long, rather.

"Well, I suppose I shall let you get back to work."

"No, I need fresh air," Heero said abruptly. He stood just as quickly as though something instantly was plaguing him and he felt the need to purge his stomach.

"Heero?"

"Excuse me."

He shot past her, boots ringing out as he briskly escaped the confines of his home. God help him, but he loved her too much to let her go and too much to make her stay.

(O)(O)(O)

"Duo, I am in a terrible predicament."

"Yes, you have fair well run your husband out of his own house; I would hope there would be a terrible predicament to account for this."

She had never heard Duo sound so withdrawn and so monotone. He stood near the fireplace, his sexual demeanor taking a darker turn as the light played against his skin and reflected off of his eyes.

Relena found it hard to sit still but hardly had the energy to move. "My father invited me to stay with him over the winter. He approved of Heero and my new lifestyle but he felt I was too unhappy. That only a few days would not be able to help me."

"And are you that unhappy?" Duo demanded. He seemed extremely irritated as he folded his arms over his chest. "In my opinion, you truly have not given him a chance since the night he found out who your real mother is."

"I want to go home, more than anything else."

"And you want that with no regret that you leave your mate alone?"

Relena lowered her eyes. "I do not feel the way you all say I should. There isn't this tie between him and I like you say."

Duo's eyes were nearly smoldering. "He will not return until you have left. I will call for a carriage. Please pack whatever it is you need. I am sending you off tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Am I to leave my lord to spend the night and day wandering in the form of a godforsaken wolf? It will take all I have to convince him to come out of that form and the longer he is in it the harder it will be to get him to return."

Relena looked slightly confused.

"He becomes his wolf when he is in mourning. Relena, by God, the man loves more fiercely than you could imagine! And therefore, he mourns just as passionately."

"He _loves fiercely_?"

"Not that you have given him any encouragement whatsoever. He still believes you think he is some monster."

"How is this all of a sudden my fault? The man hardly spared me a second glance until a fortnight ago!"

"If you fell in love would you want to be rejected if it would be_ for all time_?" Duo exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.

Relena sat back and then pushed herself into a standing position. "I will be ready to leave in an hour."

"Good."

Relena felt tears beginning to prick at her eyes as she retreated from the living room and up to her chambers. Guerrier popped out of nowhere, whining, following on her heels. The pup was growing larger by the day and was now entirely iridescent with eyes that seemed to be darker than night itself. When the light hit his coat just right, rainbow colors would reflect off.

"Oh, you will be fine. You and Heero can howl together," she spat bitterly though she felt like the lowest creature on earth.

Guerrier recoiled and stopped following her. His ears back, his whine turned lamenting.

"Guerrier," Relena despaired as she turned to console him. The pup lowered his ears further. "You do not understand. Everyone claims Heero loves me but what on heaven and earth has he ever done to make me feel that way?"

Relena groaned. Guerrier stood as a living and breathing reminder of the things Heero had done for her. The man hadn't wanted the wolf in the first place.

Then Guerrier did something he had never done in his entire life. He bared his fangs to her and then faced away, retreating down the steps.

"Oh God," she sobbed instantly, the dam of tears breaking. "I thought I was doing the right thing. I _am_ doing the right thing…"

_But for who?_ A small voice in her head asked.

(O)(O)(O)

Her carriage ride was far more painful than her one coming to the house had been. The trail seemed to be reprimanding her, the driver purposely hitting all the bumps and dips. She had already hit her head twice against the frame of the coach and they weren't even out of the forest yet. With red-rimmed eyes, Relena resigned her head to hours of beating as she rested her temple against the side of the window and looked out at the setting sun.

Just as she went to close her eyes she caught sight of a wolf standing just to the side of the path in a thicket of trees. Piercing blue eyes stared intently at the coach rambling by. Relena sat forward instantly, a hand inadvertently pressing against the glass.

Just as the wolf disappeared from sight Relena heard the most agonizing howl her ears had ever endured. It was one of anguish, despair and hopelessness.

It was one of a wolf that had lost his only mate in life.

(O)(O)(O)

Hours passed. The night grew darker and darker. Duo began to pace back and forth, feeling for perhaps the first time in his life the same anxiety Heero often felt that rendered him unto pacing for relief. He also realized why his antisocial companion had to pace often; the activity was hardly helpful.

Heero could not stay out much longer, Duo thought with no confidence. He flopped onto the couch and not a moment later Quatre appeared in a chair next to him. Trowa stood no more than a few feet away.

"Not in a million years would I have foreseen this," Duo groaned. "The first female in history to turn her mate away."

"She could honestly just want to see her parents."

"But no mate can bear to be separated from her partner for more than…" Trowa died off. "A couple of days at the most," he calculated.

Quatre fell silent. He felt near tears. Trowa's presence was soothing but not enough to stop his crystalline eyes from welling up.

"Oh, come on, Winner," Duo spat out. "This is no time to bring the ocean to land."

Trowa felt his anger rising. No one spoke to Quatre that way. He glared at Duo and the man instantly brought a hand up to his temple.

"Trowa!" Quatre exclaimed, standing up instantly. "Stop it! Stop!" He grabbed hold of one of Trowa's arms and looked up at the man with tears pouring from his eyes. "Trowa! Stop!"

Duo had fallen off the couch by now, holding onto his head for dear life. Then all at once he gasped, his hands colliding with the ground for support. "Damn you to Hell, Barton," he rasped. He looked up and mild shock ran over his features as he saw Quatre holding onto a surprisingly palpable Trowa. The man was supposed to be nothing.

"That is a first," Duo coughed. "You two never told me that…"

Quatre looked away and Trowa raised his chin in a challenge.

Just then the door to the living room burst open and stormy blue eyes glared at each man in the room. "Get. Out."

"Heero, please, do not make us leave," Quatre begged.

"Get out of my lair."

"Heero—" Duo started.

Heero lowered his head and with fists clenched bellowed, "LEAVE!"

All the windows in the house shattered and all the candles illuminating the place flickered and died. There was a silence that followed that swept through the house, killing the rest of the feeling of welcome and inhabitance.

When Heero opened his eyes he was entirely alone. Collapsing to his knees, he slammed to fists into the wood, snapping the boards where he contacted with them. He growled when he tried to breathe and then whined so low in his throat almost he didn't hear it. But Guerrier had and as the clear-like wolf approached the man, Heero crumpled into his wolf's form. Guerrier nuzzled into his father's fur and lay down next to him.

He would have never guessed his mother would have done this.

(O)(O)(O)

"Ah, my dear Relena, we are so glad to have you with us for the holiday season!"

Relena let her mother embrace her falsely before she fell gratefully into her father's arms.

"I knew we had to bring you back home without that man," her father sighed contently.

"Without Heero? Why would you say that, father?" Relena asked, pulling away partially out of insult.

"It was obvious how unhappy you were! You needed a break from that dismal place," Relena's mother explained instantly. "And what a dismal man to boot! No, this is the place for you to be where this is light and color!"

Relena frowned slightly. Light and color she had been locked away from her entire life.

"I was not that miserable, honestly. Things were getting better…"

"Nonsense! We can hear it in your voice. The man might be generous with his material possessions but definitely not in his actions," her father replied adamantly.

"Heero is just a quieter type." Relena flinched. She knew her voice betrayed her uncertainty in what she said. Yet, she couldn't help but feel slightly defensive over the elaborate insults towards her husband.

"Well you are here with us and that is all that matters. I should have never given you over to the man without getting to know him first," the aging man declared as he took his daughter's coat and handed it to a servant to hang up.

"Father, trust me, it could have been so, so much worse." That was the truest statement of the night and Relena hoped it would end at that.

"There is something…" Relena's mother frowned and looked to the ceiling as though the word she was looking for was written upon it. "Something untamed, almost feral about the man. I do not like it at all. No sophisticated air, no courtly manners."

Relena swallowed hard; that was coming a little too close to home. "Enough talk about my husband. I have traveled for hours! I am _starved!_"

Her father laughed heartily and her mother smiled in response. But even as Relena entered the comforting warmth of the dining room she couldn't forget the mournful cry of the wolf as she had ridden out of the forest.

It haunted her through the entire meal, all while she bathed, and even as she rested her head against her familiar pillow. She turned over and found her leg stretching out just slightly to make contact with…Guerrier…

Instantly, Relena covered her face to prevent herself from crying. She had hurt more than one innocent creature, she thought bitterly to herself. With her eyes closed all she could do was see Heero and the agony in his eyes while he gave her permission to go. How had she missed such sorrow?

_You were trying your hardest not to notice anything besides his approval, you dolt!_ She scolded herself. _You knew he would oppose the idea._

But not in the way she had expected. She had readied herself for a flat-out rejection or a hesitant, guilt-ridden yes. The response he gave her was earth-shattering but now that she thought of it she began to think back to every single sacrifice he had ever made to her.

He had given up a life of solitude. He had adopted a handful of a pup. He had entertained guests. He had exposed his secrets. He had suffocated in a suit. He had approved any changes to the house she had suggested. And the most powerful one of all, he had given up avenging the death of his own beloved mother and father for her very life. And the little things! How he tried so hard to walk quietly through the house after dark. How he left doors ajar so as not to wake or disturb her. How he opened windows to let in light and air. How he kept the fire roaring and sat down for tea (which she knew he hated). He had sent money to her parents and checked up on her at night when she awoke.

Why hadn't she noticed all this before?

Relena threw a fist into her pillow and buried her face deeper. But that was not even half of the story she had to remind herself. She was married to a man that couldn't stand to be in his own skin. Who was truly an animal in disguise. A man who spoke so little and never indulged in conversation of even the lightest sort. A husband that was often absent and a lover that was rather frigid. Even their kisses had been chaste, save their kiss upon meeting. Such promise in that kiss. Such a let down in response.

With a heavy sigh, the young woman lifted a hand up to examine her generous engagement ring. Who _was_ she married to? Sometimes the man seemed to be a tortured prince and other times he seemed to be an antisocial villain. What role did he play in her life?

_Certainly not one of a husband_.

And with that, Relena took off her rings and set them firmly in the top drawer. During her visit in this house she was no longer the Lady of Chateau le Loup, she was simply Relena.

"_You have the title of a gentleman, but you are anything but!" _she had exclaimed upon their first meeting.

"_I am neither of those, my wife. You will learn that soon enough."_

"Neither gentle nor man," Relena murmured aloud. A single tear slipped from her eyes. "How am I supposed to fall in love with that?"

(O)(O)(O)

Author's Note: whoa, what have I done? Hehe, it gets _worse_. Just you wait until next chapter. I have another ace up the sleeve. Anyways, with Thanksgiving break coming up soon I expect the chapter should be out shortly! Thank you for all those that read, reviewed and waited with anticipation. I hope I will never let you down. Thank you to: Uruwashii Inochi, WindCloud, …, Trinara, Jessica, moogle in paradaisu, asakura89, silver-eyed, Lurker, apol, flaming-amber, Alaskantiger, Reignashii, Sanskrit, Kim, Lauren, hashiba42, rEi LauGh a lOts, Purdy, grdiang3l, Animouse03, RedLion2, gundamgirl1818, Amulak, LoisLane95, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, Katherine, heaven'sgirl, 4everfanfic, and GundamFan.

_**Thank you so much, Happy Thanksgiving, eat lots of turkey and I hope you all enjoy the next chapter coming soon:)**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Eight_

Relena walked downstairs, feeling as though she were committing adultery in the worst sense. Her parents had invited a man a little older than her, and _not_ married, over for dinner. He had no lover to speak of and the dining table had been set up for her to sit near him and get to know him better.

What on earth were her parents thinking? She desperately hoped that Heero's elusive entourage would not choose this night to check up on her. She frowned when she thought about how Heero would handle the news. She could barely imagine.

Even as she sat down numbly in the living room she tried desperately to find a way out of the situation. There were the typical excuses: she felt ill, she was pregnant, her husband wouldn't approve, _she_ didn't approve.

Dear God, what was she even doing here? She should have known her parents weren't trying to save her even though she had known all along she didn't want to be saved anyways. She just wanted time _think_ for Christ's sake!

Her palms began to grow hot and sweaty and she wrung them together. She _should have known!_ What kind of parents lured their own child into a trap? They both knew she did not believe in society's quiet acceptance of out-of-marriage relationships. They were so quick to give her away only to have her back?

Heat began to sear her hands as she froze. Now, that didn't make any sense. What did this supposedly eloquent bachelor have to offer that Heero did not? There had to be something. They had sold her off to the highest bidder but now something better had come along and with Relena's homesickness brutally warped into dislike for her husband (leaving her no way to argue if the time came), they had an excuse to move her towards another man.

But her father! How could he ever approve! "How could he?" she whispered aloud.

Relena stood furiously, long dress swirling about her feet as she strode over to the fireplace. It was all starting to come together. But God, how her hands were burning!

"Of all the devil's doings…" she muttered in a bitter voice.

_How could her own father do this?!?_

Instantly, flames burst forth from her palms and she cried out in shock. The flames shot towards the fire and ignited it further.

"Relena?!"

Her mother and father came into the room with a strapping man dressed to kill along with them. Relena was beyond relief when she noticed her hands had not been burned and her palms were no longer harvesting flames.

"Are you all right? We heard you cry out, my dear!" her father exclaimed.

Hearing his sweet voice caused Relena to bristle into anger but she made sure to keep her palms far away from each other. She turned around. "Yes, yes, I was foolish to stand so close to the fire. A log snapped and some flame came out towards my dress. I was just taken by surprise. Look! No damage done."

Her mother bought the story instantly but her father frowned, hearing the fake lilt in her voice. Something was deeply upsetting his daughter in a way he had rarely seen. He feared she was onto their plot. He had been so stupid to ever agree to his wife's plans.

"Good then," he continued. "This is Treize Khushrenada. He recently moved to France and purchased land close to the sea. He's a very wealthy businessman."

Relena held out her hand dutifully but lifted her chin to show defiance. "It is a pleasure to meet you Monsieur Khushrenada."

As the sturdy man lowered his lips leisurely to Relena's delicate hand, a shadow from the window disappeared, the hint of a braid snapping behind the retreating figure.

"Perhaps you have heard of my husband, Monsieur Heero le Loup as he goes by."

Treize straightened up and looked curiously over to her parents who both found something extremely interesting in their decorating at that moment.

"Yes, I have heard of him but was unaware that he had married. I half expected him to live out his life alone."

Something in Treize's voice was not sincere and Relena smiled wryly. Treize was probably one of her husband's kind. The lie he just told was a good lead.

"Well, maybe he had to submit finally to the idea that there is that one perfect match out there for everyone," Relena nearly sang, her smile all-knowing.

"Yes, perhaps he did," Treize continued cryptically. "And you believe this?"

"Of course, monsieur! Do you?"

Ah, and there was the question. Treize had no way out now and he knew it.

"Relena, shame on you, what a forthright question to a guest! I do apologize Monsieur Khushrenada; Relena never did so well with etiquette."

"No, no," he said quickly, clearing his throat. "I do believe that. However, I am not so sure we get it right the first time regardless of the insight we think we have."

Relena took a step back and studied him closely for a moment.

"Shall we head into the dining room?" her mother asked instantly, the tension rising to a level even she noticed.

Relena felt something pull slightly on the back of her dress and hesitated. She could smell the sea instantly and felt a slight breeze on the back of her neck. She froze. "Y-yes, give me just a moment to warm my hands again. They feel like ice."

"Are you well?" her mother asked severely.

"Of course, mother, the winter is setting in, that is all. Please, go ahead."

The three left reluctantly, both talking to Treize and apologizing in low voices. As they shut the parlor door, Relena let out a heavy sigh.

"Quatre, that had best be you."

As she turned the man materialized in a small burst of wind from an undistinguishable direction. The blond man nodded, his eyes piercing the doorway as though he was watching through it.

"Tell me you heard all that I did," Relena said quickly. "He is one of us!"

"Yes, he is. I have known Treize for as long as I can remember. What he is doing back in France is beyond me. The man was banished years ago."

"For what?"

"Conspiring to kill Heero's parents."

Relena put a hand over her mouth. "We must warn Heero!"

Quatre gave her a slightly condescending look. "I am sure Lady Une contacted him. They were lovers long ago; I suspect it never truly ended though he was forced to leave."

"And she was not?"

"She ran."

Relena looked slightly downward. That would explain why Relena had been left behind at a young age. "I thought my father…"

"Lady Une had many lovers. Treize was the most consistent. They did all their dirty work together, whether it was their own scheme someone hired them."

"And when Une killed Heero's mother?"

"She was hired by a man named Dakim. Relena, you should not have exposed yourself like that. It gave Treize a lot of information he should not have."

"I need to stay and find out his intentions. You need to go and warn Heero."

"You need to go back to him, Relena. If he finds out I let you stay here with Treize I think he have a fatal heart attack."

"Even if it was a fatal one he would survive it," Relena said in a strict voice. "My parents said he leaves for the coast tomorrow. I have to stay tonight and try to figure out as much as I can. And I am the only woman around so I am the only one fit to accomplish the task."

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Did you just admit to having the wily ways of a female? I thought you were one to deny those stereotypes."

"I found that one to be of benefit and would only deny it for my own vanity and image."

Quatre shook his head and then seemed to still, as though listening. "Oh no…"

"What?" Relena asked urgently.

"They will be waiting for you in the dining room. Go, find out what you can. I need to return to the mansion at once."

"What in the world is going on?"

Quatre closed his eyes as though in pain but was gone before he answered her question.

"Damn it!" Relena cursed avidly. She picked up the front part of her hem and hurried out of the parlor and straight into danger.

(O)(O)(O)

By the time Quatre had arrived he feared it was too late. Duo was bleeding profusely and Heero was in a constant state of changing between a raging man and a deadly wolf. The entire living room was in shreds, everything was broken and Quatre nearly gave up hope when he saw moisture around Heero's eyes.

"What did you do?" Quatre exclaimed as Heero turned and broke another painting.

"I merely told him what I saw to prepare him for the worst."

"And what did you see?"

"Relena with another man. _Treize_ of all people. She was flirting with him."

This statement caused Heero to collapse. "She…has…" he stopped and put his face into both hands. "To be the…wrong one."

"No!" Quatre exclaimed. He rushed over to Heero. "She never flirted with him. I was in the room the entire time! She caught onto him. She _cornered _him, in front of mortals no less."

"She was not wearing her wedding band!" Heero roared as he stood up, throwing Quatre aside.

"She spoke of you and introduced you _as her husband!_" Quatre yelled over Heero's rage.

This stopped Heero and he reluctantly turned around. "You speak the truth?"

"Duo left before he could make the correct assumption."

Duo harrumphed and crossed his hands over his chest. "I saw the way she held her hand to him."

"The woman had just shot flames from her hands! She was trying to recover with a lie!"

"What? Flames?" Heero demanded though his strength was lacking. He seemed to be fading quickly.

"She figured out that her parents had betrayed her in luring her back home. She kept wringing her fingers together," Quatre explained. "Something violent sparked in her eyes as she continued to brood and the next thing I know I am dodging flames from her hands. She called out in alarm and that is when Treize, along with her parents, entered the parlor."

Heero slowly sank down into a shredded couch. "So she is alone with Treize right now. That must mean that Une is not far away either…"

"You are in no condition to be going after her," Duo finally cut in. He seemed to be healing quickly but when Quatre looked at Heero he began to see spots of blood on his shirt where he hadn't seen any before.

"Heero!" Quatre exclaimed. "Oh…no…Heero…"

Heero closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the top of the couch. "Leave me in peace."

"Fuck," Quatre hissed. He had never cursed in his entire life. "You actually thought she had abandoned you."

"What else was I to think?" Heero rasped.

"If he dies, Duo, the blame is turning to you."

"He has been falling apart since she left!" Duo yelled back. The temperature rose for a brief moment before the braided man whirled around and slammed his fists into the wall, shattering holes into them where he did so. "I just wanted to end his pain already! Do you realize she has been gone for over two weeks?"

"Of course I do!" Quatre shot back. "I am going to fetch Relena. You try to keep him as alert as possible. There is only one way to undo this."

"Quatre! If Treize is here, Heero's right, Une is around, too. What if this is some sort of trap?"

Quatre put a hand up to his forehead and thought as rapidly as he could. "It would be just like them. Separate the two of them and let our fate take care of the rest so none of us could interfere. Call Wufei to you. I will send Trowa ahead. Their plan will only work if Relena cannot get to Heero in time."

Duo turned and looked at Quatre. "This was just how Heero's mother died."

Heero groaned and rolled his head to the side. A tear slid down his cheek and he squeezed his eyes shut. "No…"

Quatre turned away from the sight and found Trowa standing mere inches from him. The taller man instantly placed his hands on each one of Quatre's shoulders. "Look at me, little one," he murmured so no one else could hear.

Quatre looked up, tears beginning to fall. "We cannot lose him, Trowa."

"And we will not."

Quatre narrowed his eyes just slightly. "I do not understand…"

Trowa bowed his head for a moment and squeezed Quatre's shoulders. "Come with me for a moment," he instructed as he led Quatre out of the living room. He shut the door that was slightly off its hinge and then reached out, uncharacteristically, to run his hand down his lover's face. "I will take the form of Relena. I will take the obvious way back to the manor. Une will come after me and that will give Relena a chance to make haste on another road and reach Heero in time."

"No, Trowa, no! Not this way!"

Trowa smiled softly. "I already have you, Quatre. No one will ever take me from you."

"You told me you would never lie to me," Quatre said in a quivering voice. He held tightly to the hand that held the side of his face as though he could keep Trowa by mere force.

"You will know where to find me if anything happens…"

"Trowa, do not do this. I am begging you…" Quatre choked.

The taller man brought his lips against the blond man's forehead and lingered there for a moment, inhaling the calming and familiar scent. He closed his eyes and moved to rest his head against his lover's. "Everything will turn out as it should."

"That is not very reassuring. Do not give me reason to resent Heero and Relena at the cost of you."

"Quatre, look at me," Trowa commanded. The man reluctantly replied. "Without Treize by her side I will be able to stop her and put her out of our way for a while. We need to take this opportunity or we are all finished. I am asking you to put a little more faith in my ability."

"Why do you always have to put it that way?" Quatre lamented.

Trowa smiled softly. "Fetch Relena and alert me as to when she is on her way back. I need your help in this, love."

Quatre shook his head and sighed. "You are going to be the death of me."

"Yes, but is that not somewhat comforting?"

Quatre chuckled just slightly and sighed again, heavier this time. "Very well. Just one last thing."

"Anything," Trowa said with all the conviction in the world.

"For every injury you sustain that is an entire month of staying at my side."

Trowa bent his head and whispered a kiss over Quatre's mouth. "For every injury I sustain I will prove my resilience to you that many times over…" he murmured huskily.

"Both or none," Quatre said with no real strength behind his words.

Trowa kissed his mate's mouth harder and pulled the smaller man towards him suddenly, fitting their bodies together perfectly. "Both it is."

Quatre was relieved to hear it but the moment Trowa released him he was also gone. It was time to do or die.

(O)(O)(O)

The door to the house swung open and Quatre strode in with a warrant in hand and two "officers" at his side. Treize immediately recognized Quatre though tried to show no signs of it as the blond stormed into dining hall.

"Monsieur Winner. What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Relena's father asked, flustered.

"I need Madame le Loup to come with me immediately. Your husband is on his deathbed and requests your presence immediately."

"Deathbed?" Relena nearly shouted, standing abruptly. Her tea spilled over and her plate nearly toppled to the floor.

Quatre looked her square in the eye. "This is absolutely no jest, Madame," he said in his gravest voice. "By law, you are required to be at his side within the next few hours. I have the warrant for your arrest should you disobey your husband's final request."

"Quatre surely…"

"Your time is running out. I suggest you take the horse we have provided and go!"

Relena looked around, flustered and then strode out with Quatre and the other guards which each took their coin at the door and walked off. Relena slammed the door closed. "Quatre, what in the world?"

"Relena, I mean it, he is dying. He thought you had betrayed him and when a mate betrays another…well…death is the only outcome in that case. Besides, he has been fading away ever sine you left. He is only hours away. You must go to him immediately and take the farthest left road when you get to the forest. Please, you must make haste."

"Oh God, this is all my fault…"

"This is no time to think that way. You are his only hope. Go! Now!" Quatre yelled.

Relena mounted up on the thoroughbred and tore off through the cobblestone streets, heart racing. She felt tears stinging her eyes but everything was happening too suddenly to actually cry. She was too flustered to feel deep emotion. Except panic. She held tightly to the reins as she felt the first snowfall in France begin to descend upon the land. It was going to be a very long ride home. She closed her eyes briefly and reached out the best she could without truly knowing how to do it.

_Heero, hang on, I am on my way!_

Back on the porch, Quatre closed his eyes and lifted his chin slightly. _She is on her way, Trowa. _

(O)(O)(O)

Relena tore down the dirt path, the horse's flanks shuddering with power and speed. Her hair had come undone and was whipping back in currents as it snapped through the wind. She sat forward, straining to look over the horse's head to see how much further.

Suddenly, the horse reared up and toppled over, taking a frightened Relena with it.

A feminine voice chuckled. "That was just too easy…almost like last time…" she murmured as she walked up to the panting horse, struggling to stand up with its rider still slightly seated. "Hm, you do look very much like the wolf's mother used to. Same…gentle features…but _mine_ nonetheless."

Une circled the girl that had finally come free from the horse and was lying unconscious. "I should feel remorse for killing my own flesh and blood…but, my dear, there is something not even blood can undo. And unfortunately you stepped right into the middle of it. You should have stayed far away from le Loup. Granted, it seems I may owe him something for sparing my life when I was sadly carrying you. Well you made up for it," she laughed. "Maybe in the next life. Rest in peace if that is even possible for you."

Instantly, the image of Relena faded and in place of it was Trowa, standing calm and reserved. "I cannot say the dirt is the most comfortable place to lie down but thank you anyways."

Une backed up, her eyes wide with panic. "N-No…"

Trowa tilted his head just slightly. "Not what you were expecting I presume?"

"Where is she?" Une demanded, hands balling into fists.

"Where she should be; with her husband."

If Une's eyes could have gone any wider, they did. She looked around frantically as though to find the girl. "You will pay dearly for this."

Trowa smirked. "Believe me when I say that I would be very disappointed if you did not get in about ten or eleven good hits."

"You will be dead by the time I finish with you!"

"Ladies first," Trowa spoke with an elegant bow.

With that, Une pulled a sword with a black blade from her hip and charged a weaponless Trowa with a vicious scream.

(O)(O)(O)

Relena dismounted even before the horse stopped. She had found herself approaching the back of the mansion and ran, dress torn, hair wild, and face wet and cold into the house. She headed straight for the living room first, figuring it would be better to check there before running up to the study.

She nearly tripped to a stop as she took in the sight of the living room. Everything was destroyed. The door was slightly off its hinges, the couches were torn to shreds, the paintings were all smashed. Bricks were missing from the fireplace, there were holes in the walls and on the floor, and all the windows seemed to have been blown out. Relena gasped when she saw an ashen Heero sunken into one of the couches. He was barely breathing and he had tear tracks on his face.

Duo stood in the corner, eyes molten in anger. "I will stand guard. Let me know if he passes." As the man walked by he put a hand on Relena's shoulder. "This is exactly how his mother and father died."

Relena put a hand over her mouth, gasping aloud as anguish overtook her. Heero seemed to stir at the sound of her voice and his head lolled to the left so he could try to look at her. "R-Relena?"

Relena tried to open her mouth to speak but couldn't even find the words. She nearly collapsed onto the couch as she hurried over to him and began to run her hands over his face and chest. She grabbed one of his hands and tried to warm it though hers were just as cold and stiff from the freezing ride to the chateau.

"I am so sorry," she whispered. She put her forehead against his as tears began to fall onto their intertwined hands. "If I had known… Oh, Heero…." She continued to stutter to a stop every time she tried to open her mouth.

"You…you are alive?" Heero rasped.

"Yes, I am right here! I am here with you and I will never leave again. Oh, Heero, there must be a way… I am not too late! Right?"

Heero closed his eyes and tried to moisten his chapped lips. "There…is…was…something I have…been wanting to say…to you…"

"No! Do not say it. Please, not when you are like this. When I am the reason you are this way. No, you stay quiet. Try to regain your strength. We are both going to make it through this just fine. You just need rest. That is all. I am here to watch over you now."

Heero tried again in vain to moisten his lips but could barely manage. Relena could no longer hold herself back. Without any hesitation, she brought her mouth to his and kissed him as fiercely as she had been kissed the day they had met.

She ran her fingers through his hair and buried them deep as she tilted her head and fastened her mouth more securely. Heero groaned low in his throat and relaxed as Relena lingered against his mouth and then repeated several small kisses upon him.

"I love you," she whispered painfully. "I love you."

Hearing those words at long last, Heero closed his eyes and finally submitted to darkness.

(O)(O)(O)

AN: Well, I know what kind of reviews I am going to get. But I welcome them all!!! My internet has been down for several days so I apologize for that. And in light of the first snowfall of the season, I give you this chapter to enjoy. Forgive any editing errors, and thank you very, very much to: _R'Lena, Amulak, Sunflora200, amber3392, Trinara, Death'sFlowerGarden, katherine, LoisLane95, hieiashke, Fields of View, Reignashii, Jessica, SAGA123, Lurker, Nihal, lolopptt, hashiba42, Mini Nicka, Sailor Tiamat,, heaven'sgirl, RedLion2, The Honest Reader, silver-eyed, LadyIncant, Purdy, aidenrae, EmpKaylenatye, 4everfanfic, flaming-amber, Animouse03, wingfang585, WindCloud, and Morrighan of Crimson and Sable_. I took to heart each and every one of your guy's comments. Thank you so much for the support!!!


	9. Chapter 9

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Nine_

They stood face to face. Neither of them moving. Too afraid to ask. The storm was nearly over but not until one of them spoke. It was the moment of truth.

Relena tried to search his eyes desperately for the answer as he did to hers. Both of their feelings of anxiousness and worry were covering up the truth. Each expected bad news from the other.

"You first," she sighed. "I just need to hear it."

"He survived."

Relena sighed aloud, her body visibly slumping past a relaxed state and into a relieved one. "Good, that is wonderful." She sounded breathless, her accent thicker and unchecked.

"And he…made it through?"

"Yes, Heero is going to be just fine. We all made it in time."

Quatre ran a hand through his hair, disgusted to find out that it was trembling so severely. He chuckled and lowered his head to try to stretch his sore neck out. "I really should be used to this sort of thing by now. It seems to happen all the time and I fear I am just getting too old for my heart to cope with this every time."

"Age is not in the question, Monsieur Winner!" Relena declared. "I am barely a full grown woman and two nights ago took _ages_ off of me. I think I have a gray hair…" she bemoaned.

"Vanity," Quatre dismissed, though his smile was soft and gentle. "You will have it forever, my dear." He sighed and awkwardly threw his hands down as though to shake them free of water. Perhaps he was shoving off tension. "I am beyond relief that this is over for the meantime. When Trowa and Heero recover we will be seven strong and that is more than enough to push Treize and Une back."

"Seven of us can barely challenge the two of them?"

"They have friends in high places," Quatre muttered. "Dakim for one. He has power in numbers."

Relena rolled her eyes. "I swear! It is either dead around this place or the world seems about to end! I think I am going to go…" she looked back up the stairs towards Heero's bedchambers. The man was in a deep sleep and she was beginning to feel like an intruder staring over his figure. "Practice whatever it was I did the other night with the flames coming from my hands. Might be useful," she mused in a sardonic voice.

"Yes, excellent idea. The only thing this home is missing now is scorch marks."

Relena groaned and strode off towards the living room, which still had a door off of its hinge. Quatre watched her go for a fleeting moment. His heart went out to her, and God help her, she did look a tad bit older today. He knew she had stayed up with Heero for two days already; worry constantly consuming her. Quatre had, too. At least Heero didn't physically fade when injured and unconscious. Quatre had spent the better part of forty-eight hours searching for Trowa in what could only be described as oblivion.

Quatre decided to talk to Heero momentarily to tell him the news and then return to Trowa who he had left in a fairly stable condition. The blond man felt disgust at himself as he thought of his lover's promise. For every injury… No, now was not the time! Lust had to take the backburner until Trowa was truly back to normal. The solemn man had sustained a far worse beating than he probably had predicted.

Reluctantly, Quatre opened Heero's door and walked on silent feet over to the bed. He sat without ever disturbing the mattress and looked down at his leader. He sighed heavily. At least the man was staying in his human form. "I know you can hear me. Trowa made it through. We all did. You have time to rest and recover before we have to take immediate action. I am going to do my best to find out how Treize was able to contact Relena's parents. In the meantime, I suggest you appreciate your wife tenfold. She did a very selfless act for you that said more than words ever could." Quatre blew air out from his lungs in one gust and looked around the room. "Well, I will leave you to yourself then. Until we meet again."

It would be weeks before they saw each other.

(O)(O)(O)

Relena threw her hands down in frustration, looking at her palms as though they weren't her own. "How did I do it before?" she muttered. She had little to no patience today and she felt like stomping her left foot as she used to as a child. The more her agitation grew the more her hands began to feel hot but then again, that was a mortal reaction as well.

"You were upset."

Relena spun around to see her husband resting a bit too heavily against the doorframe, arms folded loosely and watching her. Her palms were still turned upwards slightly at her sides and she looked down at them briefly. "I was…"

"Our children are born normally, according to mortals' standards, and age quite rapidly until adulthood. Often times, the parents will only know their child's ability when the child exhibits extreme or powerful emotion. Mortals, such as yourself, exposed and prone to turning show similar signs," Heero explained pointlessly. Relena noticed he did such things when he was trying to calm someone.

"Well, then, so much for attempting that stunt again. I would loathe working myself into a tizzy again. I have had enough of that for quite a while."

Heero smirked softly, a genuine smile pushing through just barely at the corners of his mouth. "When Quatre told me you had accomplished such a feat it made me wonder just what you will become when you change. You can heal and you can obviously destroy if you want to. Usually we are unable to do both since the natures are contradicting."

Relena's smile was rueful. "Then maybe that is what I shall be: contradictory. It would definitely fit my personality."

Heero sensed too much pain behind those words, and that alone gave him the strength to push himself off of his much needed support. "I could hardly think that," he murmured, approaching her with slow, determined steps. He was sore. He felt as though he had just come out of rigor mortis. She watched him with wary eyes, unsure whether to stop him and sit him down or let him continue his strenuous walk. Relena opted to remain quiet as he neared her. "I am not so cold as to not realize the sacrifice you made just the other night. And I am familiar enough with these lands to also realize what a hard journey you had to make. I just need to hear it from you that that was truly what you wanted to do."

It nearly killed Relena to see how earnest he looked, how silent and withheld but how desperate. His eyes searched hers with determination, with hope but his body remained rigid, ready for the worst rejection. She reached out and put a hand softly around a taunt arm as her eyes turned up to meet his. "Quatre might have directed me to save you but I left on my own free will. When I heard, Heero, and I realized that he was telling the truth, I was struck with such panic as I had never experienced before in my life. I could not feel the cold on my face, or the numbness in my fingers. I was unaware of the branches pulling at my dress…it all just faded away. I could only think of the worst until I reached you."

Heero's head lowered as emotion threatened to overtake him in a way he had never fallen susceptible to before. He felt tears burning in his eyes and was thankful beyond belief when Relena fell into his arms, lowering her head onto his chest; making her blind to his weakness. His arms immediately encircled her small body and he held her close, tight, and protectively. His strength was rapidly returning and with it came an instantaneous feeling to claim her right there and then. Relena returned the embrace wholeheartedly and relief flooded her body as she felt his grip tighten. He was going to be all right. One of his callused hands came up to run through her hair and hold her head tight against his chest just as Relena felt his body quiver slightly.

_Oh no_, she thought. _He must be crying…_

"I want you more than I have wanted anything in my entire life," he rasped, cutting through her train of thought.

So off course from what she had thought, Relena almost wondered if she had heard correctly. But there was no denying that her body had heard the confession and had reacted immediately. Her hold on him tightened without her mental control and she forced her head to stay bowed for a moment longer to think. There was no doubt in her mind that she would eagerly go into his arms in the intimate sense but was now really the time? He had just barely survived an ordeal that she, herself, had put him through.

Was she truly worthy of that kind of affection right now?

She pulled slightly away, mind made up. As she looked up at his startling blue eyes, she saw a fire burning there hotter than the blazes of hell itself. Could she truly turn that down? Could she ask him to put aside his fierce passion?

But just as soon as that fire had roared to life it seemed it was already ebbing. Concern doused the flames in Heero's eyes and he held her in an analytical grip. "I said something wrong. I am sorry." His voice was still thick and rugged.

"No, no!" she said quickly, trying to avoid the most emotional damage possible. "It is just that…" she sighed. "You are in poor condition because of me. I honestly cannot go to your arms without guilt."

The reason seemed to take Heero aback. He let her go for a brief moment before feeling the loss and bringing his hands back up to her shoulders. He looked down at her with a look akin to shock. "Why on earth would you feel guilt? You could not know how this would happen."

"But I am responsible nevertheless."

Heero's firm grip tightened instantly. "You are married to a man that has lived his life solely out of responsibility for his people and I must warn you; if you let that kind of duty take over your very life then you will no longer have a life at all."

Relena's eyes softened slightly. "You are warning me to not be myself? Monsieur, I think that is a warning that is nearly impossible to heed."

"I am warning you not to deny me because of your sense of responsibility."

The smaller woman felt trapped by those words and her eyes turned down. She felt…awkward. She didn't know how to proceed. When she looked up her husband had a smirk that resembled masculine smugness, the one expression she hated most. He brought his lips to her forehead and lingered a slow kiss there before pulling away. "Dinner then, tonight, just the two of us. I shall tell the chef to have it ready by seven."

A smile of relief covered Relena's face and she nodded. "Dinner at seven it is then."

Heero returned the nod and squeezed her shoulders just slightly. "I am going to take Guerrier out for a run-about, the lazy creature will not remove himself from my bed." As he went to leave, he turned around. "Oh, and about creating fire; you do not have to be upset. I said extreme or powerful emotion. See if you can do something with that."

Relena's smile turned devilish. "For Duo's sake, let us hope I cannot."

Heero's serious face was only held in mockery. "If that is your motive, to fight fire with fire, then I will have to demand you master the art."

Relena laughed freely and turned to the fireplace and rubbed her hands together, letting her husband leave to find their pet.

(O)(O)(O)

Trowa's vision was hazy as he opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him made him want to sit up but two joyfully firm hands were pressing him down into the mattress. He looked down at his wrist and sighed with relief.

The simple silver bracelet was something he rarely wore since it inhibited his abilities. With it on he was able to lie on a bed, touch objects and move them as well. Quatre had fashioned it years ago out of the oldest silver on the earth. That connection between the silver on his wrist and the powerful silver deep down in the earth kept Trowa grounded in a sense.

"Quatre," he spoke as best he could. "H-how many days?"

"How many days? In this dimension? Just about _three_. Half the time you were not even in this blasted room. It took me hours to find that damned bracelet…"

Trowa grinned weakly. He always wanted to smile when Quatre went off on a rant or a tangent. The man had such passion in him, such emotion and he rarely let it out until something irked him. The sight was almost comical since Quatre seemed to also fluster and confuse himself by his own actions.

"Wipe that smile off of your face," Quatre barked. "I am holding you fully responsible for my lack of sleep, nerves, appetite and sanity!"

Trowa could no longer suppress the chuckled that was bubbling inside of him and it came out low and clear; a relief to his own ears.

"I swear, I have had it with you and your withdrawn attitude. You know, none of this would be amusing if you actually put yourself into the situation where you belong. All you do is sit back and look in as though you are not involved."

"But I enjoy watching myself getting subjected to this torture."

"You sick…" Quatre struggled for a word before he was forced to just close his gaping mouth without an insult to stand up to his accusation. "You want to talk about torture…Trowa, tell me you were just out of shape, out of practice; that she did not honestly beat you this badly because you let her or she is that powerful now."

"She is _not_ that powerful and it was my aim to delay her as long as possible. I had to afford her a few hits for her to remain. She would have fled immediately to Relena if she had figured out that she was fighting a battle she could not win." Trowa closed his eyes. "How is she?"

"Relena is fine. Perhaps a few years older but that was to be expected. She got to Heero on time and all is well across the forest. So, put that to rest and start worrying about you!"

Trowa rolled his eyes and looked out the window into the darkening forest. "How much time do have we given ourselves?"

"Wufei is ensuring us a few weeks. You know he has a long history with Treize and has longed for centuries to finally destroy the man. He alone should keep Treize and Une distracted."

"And where is Duo in all of this?"

"He is in Russia…discussing the technicalities of Treize and Une's escape from confinement."

Trowa grimaced for Duo's victim's sake. "The one thing he can do well other than fornicate."

Quatre nodded in agreement before he collapsed further into his chair. "How do you feel?"

"I have had better days."

"The truth."

"I am a lot better than you think, my love," Trowa said gravely, looking over at his one and only. "I think in just a day's time I will be able to prove that to you."

Quatre felt a modest blush rising but held it back with a scowl. "I think not! You are staying in that bed with that bracelet on until I say you can get up."

"I would not have to get up to show you my good health."

"Damn you, Trowa! Enough! I am beginning to suspect you have spent too much time with Duo. That cannot be all that is on your mind at a time like this."

"A time like what? It is quiet right now, Quatre. Relax a little. If we were not immortal you would be aging yourself a year a day at this rate."

"I will take that as the insult it was!" Quatre huffed, folding his arms and turning his nose up.

Trowa stretched his arms up and arched his back to release the tension building there. He smiled inwardly as he felt Quatre's eyes on his shifting muscles. As he sighed with ease, he left his arms up casually. "If that is what you need to deny me, then I am flattered."

"Why you, ignorant, self-centered, over-confident son of a—" Quatre was rendered silent under lips that were suddenly pressed hard to his. He moaned when he felt solid fingers sliding through his hair and holding him still for invasion.

_Do not make me get out of this bed, because I will._

Quatre's eyes flew open and he pulled away from the kiss. "Are you threatening me? How is this for a threat?" he nearly yelled, shoving his hands against Trowa's hard chest and forcing him back onto the bed. "If you move you will regret it in a way that will be slow and painfully unfulfilling."

Trowa's eyes lit up just barely. "That sounds like it has possibilities," he said in his usual soft and calm voice.

Quatre shook his head and sighed. "I am going to kill you."

"No you are not. Who else would fight you through your ranting and raving with his undying love and attention?"

"Attention purely in the physical sense." Quatre's anger was easing off even in his tone.

"You know that is not true," Trowa murmured.

"Do not."

"What?"

"Try to lure me in with this soft talk. I will not buy it someday."

"But today you will?"

Quatre closed his eyes and sighed with defeat. "Yes."

(O)(O)(O)

Relena tried to stifle a laugh as she continued to watch her husband attempt to eat slowly in front of her. His domestic manners were impeccable but his appetite was voracious and impossible to hide as he continued to put bite after bite in his mouth without a pause to breathe or speak.

At last, a small giggle did burst forth and her hand flew up, causing her to laugh further.

The sound was like music to Heero's ears but when he realized it was directed at him he slowly put his fork down and looked at her, slightly bewildered. "I beg your pardon, but…what is so amusing?"

Relena waved her hand as her cheeks turned pink. She was trying to bite back her laughter which was just causing her body to shudder with the repression. "I just…" she broke out into laughter and was surprised when Heero's face gave way to a cracked smile. She was contagious in every way! "You just…"

Heero put on a mockingly stern face. "I will have you know that if you are laughing at my manners, I happened to have had training hundreds of years ago so I do beg your pardon if I am a bit out of practice."

"No, the ancient manners are just fine. Your appetite is another."

Heero sat back and raised an eyebrow. "My appetite, Madame?"

"Are you starved or do you always eat with such vigor?"

"I am not starved and as far my method of dining, I do not just eat with vigor. I do _everything_ with vigor, milady, if it is something worth doing."

Relena's laughter died slightly but the sparkle remained as she caught onto the double meaning of the phrase. "Well, then, my good lord, eat up. I would be disappointed should you not have the means to remain…invigorated."

Heero's stern look turned into a feral smile that he barely managed to hide by going back to his meal. Between a bite he looked up at her. "You must tell me what your favorite memory is from the past. It is something I have been meaning to ask."

"Is there a catch in any of this?"

"No, no destiny or fates trying to align. It is more a customary thing of our people. Please, humor me."

His civil growl was rolling over her body in a luxurious way that made her sit forward slightly and engage him fully.

"My favorite memory is quite simple. I remember I was sitting out in our yard, looking out into nothing as I often did when I let my imagination wander when Millardo strode out and handed me a leather-bound book that was to be all my own. He had even written my name in it with ink." Relena smiled wistfully. "It was a fantasy book with, I must admit, some romance that I considered myself too young to read, but did nevertheless…Oh, I read that book every day, over and over again."

Heero nodded and listened in attentive silence. He put his fork down as he reached for his wine.

"And yours?"

He looked slightly stunned for a moment, putting his glass down rather slowly. "Mine? I have to reach back hundreds of years—" he stopped himself. No, he didn't. "No, I don't… My favorite memory, one that I will never forget…It was the day that Duo informed me that you had been born and that you were healthy. Despite the fact that I was oblivious that you were to be my mate, I had been concerned for you ever since I had let Une go. I had touched you and you had spoken to me. More importantly, you had asked me a question I felt unworthy to answer. I worried consistently after that question, hoping it was not foreshadowing your early death since I feared I would be responsible for it with your mother's injuries." Heero sat back again, but this time appeared to sit back with more ease. "I was sitting in my study, glancing over a few of my father's documents when Duo strode in, his usual grin particularly triumphant. He informed me that you had been born and that you were as healthy as could be. I felt so responsible for my parents' deaths that if you had died, I honestly would have not been able to continue. I remember smiling and planning when to answer your question. You must understand, I had not smiled in well over a century."

Relena sat, stunned. He voice was growing hoarser from the use and he swallowed visibly to overcome the rasp that was overtaking his tone.

"What was my question? Did you ever answer it?"

"Alas, I was unable to ever find you. So, no, I never did answer the question." Heero looked down and then sat forward. "As for your question, oh-one-of-independence, your question was, 'will I always be alone?'"

"I was afraid of being alone?"

"The question was a lot deeper than that. You spoke the question in ideas since you had no words. You were afraid of death, of the world your mother was bringing you into. You knew that you were destined for a rough upbringing and you feared either dying or staying…" Heero died off as his wife's eyes lit up.

"Staying locked in my room, away from everything." She was slightly rattled by the notion. "I used to cry so hard when she did that to me…"

"Both of your mothers seemed to be lacking in their supposed god-given abilities to love and nurture." There was nothing soft about Heero's voice in that moment, as his mouth twisted into a deep frown of disapproval.

"Did you have an answer?"

Heero shook his head as though the response was stupid. "Yes, I did. I was going to tell you that you always have this race, my people, since half of your blood already belongs in our clan. I was also going to explain that there was one man out there that would love you unconditionally and take care of you for the rest of your life."

Their eyes met and Relena felt tears slightly well up in her eyes. She felt her hands tremble with the effort to hold back her tears and she blinked with a vengeance several times to try to force the tears back. One spilled forward and then another.

"Just one?" she tried at a jest as a last attempt.

Heero looked slightly repentant but his smile was genuine though small. "Yes, just one."

"Thank the heavens because I would honestly hate to have to try to tame another wild creature! You, my wolf, are plenty!" When she tried to laugh again, tears came forward unchecked and before she could go to wipe them away, Heero had circled the table and was lifting her up and into his embrace.

He let her tears soak into shirt and reveled in the dampness on his chest. She had _finally_ accepted their union. At long last, she believed in it and needed it just as much as he did.

"I swear to you," Heero said fiercely. "From here on out, Relena, I will go to the ends of the earth to make you happy."

Relena's sob was also part chuckle. "Good, then you can start by fixing my poor living room."

Heero threw his head back and laughed, holding her closer. He lowered his head and rained kisses atop her thick, sweet-smelling hair. Small kisses of reassurance and promise. Her fingers clung to his shirt and she shook her head against his chest slowly, trying to stop herself from crying further.

The moment of rapture began to subside but their fast hold on each other did not ease. Heero sighed heavily and pressed his face against her head. "I am not asking you to give yourself to me, but do not deny me the need to hold you tonight."

His voice was unexpectedly rough and she felt a shiver race down her spine. The intrigue and temptation caused her to be bold and lift her head. "I would not deny my gallant wolf of such a request," she murmured honestly.

Heero lifted her chin and brought his mouth down to her without preamble. He had no choice but to kiss her. No choice but to tell her in ways that words couldn't what she was doing for him, _to _him.

Never had it been truer that from darkness came the brightest of lights than in that very moment. Heero held to the moment, cupping the flame, for he knew that very soon a storm like no other would hit, as he could see the dark clouds off in a distance. Wufei was working hard to give them this much needed time and Duo was as well. He was thankful for these stolen days and wanted nothing more than to relish and immerse himself in them but he was not so foolish as to not realize what was to come.

Heero tore his mouth from Relena's and dropped a kiss just behind her ear, causing her body to physically tremble against his hard frame. This time was theirs. No one could take that from them. He had her at last.

And nothing was going to take her away again.

(O)(O)(O)

AN: yeah, happier and lighter chapter. Please, I would really like to hear your feedback on this change of pace! Also, I find myself at a fork in the road. If there will ever be an intimate scene between Heero and Relena, next chapter will be it! However, if there is strong opposition to that idea _let me know_, this is for your enjoyment and I take all feedback seriously! Thank you very much for your patience, final exams are next week and even though this was supposed to be "dead week" (no tests, quizzes, ect) I had a huge lab exam, English portfolio and honors paper to compose, so…so much for the dead part of the week. Okay! Enough of my complaining! So, feedback, yes, no, like, dislike, want, don't want. And THANK YOU! To: R'Lena, Nihal, blissful trinity, hieiashke, SAGA123, Deja Know I Been Lookin For Vu, DarkElixier66, Reignashii, Oyuki, Trinara, Mini Nicka, gundamgirl1818, kirbus, flaming-amber, whitefang585, hashiba42, amber3392, lolopptt, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, EmpKaylenatye, Lost-Remembrance, 4everfanfic, Sailor Tiamat, Animouse03, Sanskrit, aidenrae, silver-eyed, Uruwashii Inochi, LadyIncant, Rach, Purdy, Alaskantiger, Amulak, heaven'sgirl, and The Honest Reader.

_Happy Holidays!_


	10. Chapter 10

Warning: rating has gone up due to this chapter. Content is not extremely graphic, however, it is mature. As with all warnings, readers are asked to make their own judgment call at this time _before_ _reading_. I, respectfully, will also say that I feel I have given a sufficient warning and will not accept any criticism upon morals or compromised standards. Thank you for your cooperation and I sincerely hope you continue to enjoy this piece. –Cologna

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Ten_

Eight days of bliss. Heero held in a sigh of contentment as he looked down at his wife resting easily in his lap, reading softly aloud to him from an ancient text. She had a remarkable knack for languages and with help every so often from the quiet man, she was able to recount the early history of Heero's people. Every so often, he dropped a kiss against her hair or ran his fingers through a strand, letting her know he was paying attention to her alone. All of his senses were honed in on her, savoring the sound of her voice and the feel of her body against his. He made no move to hide his evident approval of her nearness. He had made no move to conceal his needs since their first night sharing a bed. Relena, on the other hand, was making no move to entirely ignore the matter either. Each day built her courage and curiosity; a dangerous combination that often led to a relinquishing of control.

Relena paused for a moment and studied the symbols in an odd arrangement. Tilting her head to the side slightly, as though it would make things clearer, Heero took the cue and peered over her head for a moment and murmured the word to her gently before sitting back and letting her continue on with a slow, determined pace.

The couple was entirely unaware of a man watching them from the shadow of the doorway. He held his hand up to the butler, needing a moment to believe the scene before him. Relena looked happy and content in the arms of the untamed man, who, truly at the moment, looked just as civil as another gentleman bred into society. Her knees were tucked up over his thighs, where she held her book and her shoulder leaned easily into his chest. One of his arms was wrapped securely around her waist, the sleeve rolled up exposing hard lines of muscles and veins. His other hand made lazy work of caressing her hair and face. She was reading in a language he had never heard before and knew she had never seen before either. She stopped on a word, figuring it out with strange sounds before her husband spoke in a voice that was pitched low and rolled deep from his chest, breathing life into the word for her.

"Ahem."

Heero's eyes instantly were razor sharp as he looked away from his wife and towards the door. His faithful, and unfortunately, aging butler stood in the parlor doorway. "Madame Relena, your father has come to speak to you."

Without further introduction, the man walked in. He held up a hand for stillness and silence. He did not want his daughter to move because of his entrance. Furthermore, he did not want her to move in fear that she would not embrace him as she always had. There was something wary in her eyes.

"I know I deserve that look," he started out. "I have never been a strong man, and it seems that you have always taken the brunt of that flaw. I wish I could have come sooner but I felt I needed to do this as discreetly as possible and was forced to wait until your mother went out of town for a couple of days…"

Heero's arms tightened around Relena and he shifted her smoothly off of him, coming to stand fully erect to face the man. Relena stood up just behind Heero and wrapped her fingers around his forearm, his body mostly shielding hers.

"It is just that your mother has a lot she can hold over me—"

"Your guilt?" Relena demanded.

The man lowered his head and scratched at his grayish beard. "I have lived my life with many mistakes, and the one I regret most was having to marry her. On that same note, I have lived my life with few regrets at that and that is why I have come, knowing full well my life could be endangered on this information."

Heero's muscles tightened and coiled, waiting for a trap that would only come verbally.

The man sighed heavily. "Treize and Lady Une, your mother, are behind this whole scheme to bring down you and your husband. Treize beseeched the mother that raised you in return for youth and an immortal life. Of course, she felt no obligation to you and kept me quiet with the threat to destroy you before I could see you again. Yes, I knew, but I was silent for your sake. You have to believe me."

"Treize cannot _give_ her immortality. Youth perhaps but she will age and die," Heero murmured.

"At the idea of immortality I wanted to laugh but she seems convinced."

Heero smirked. "Une was nearly killed when she was carrying Relena by a man in his late twenties who was entirely untraceable when you, yourself sir, sought revenge. Une had killed that man's parents _years_ before and he was out to avenge his parents. The Khushrenada family was long pitted against his and he wished to end the feud in bloodshed, the way it began."

The defeated man stared over at Heero. "Yes, she had spoken of that…She told me I would never find the man nor would it be a problem since he had spared the child in her womb."

Heero wrapped an arm around Relena. "It would not have been wise of me to kill my wife at such a young age," he said in a slow and clear voice.

The shock was so great to Relena's father that he visibly took two, stumbling steps backwards before catching himself.

"I had my moment to avenge my parents," Heero sighed. "But then I saw Relena and I could not do it. She had never harmed me and she reached out to me in a way that no one had ever done before. I could not go through with it. And now, here I stand, lucky to be alive because the night that Relena met Treize for the first time, they were planning to kill me the same way they had killed my mother and father. We are aware of the attacks, Monsieur, and will put you under our protection. We are strong and we will end this."

"_We_?"

"You met my colleagues…" Heero's voice was teasing almost as he referred back to the company Monsieur Paix-Métier had so approved of. "They are just a few under my command."

"Command?"

"Yes, my family's ancient name comes from the Asian part of the world: Yuy. The name has changed and molded over the years; even I have adopted my own last name, yet we remain the leaders of a clan that has been around since the beginning of our race. I would stop doubting in immorality, Monsieur, because as you see your daughter now is exactly how you will see her until the end of your days."

"Relena?"

She just nodded to confirm the truth.

The man shook his head as though to clear his mind. He brought a hand up and ran it through his thinning hair. "So, you are aware that there is an immediate threat?"

"Yes, and we have handled it the best we can until the time comes for another confrontation. It is unfortunate that your wife thinks that there is eternal life in the cards for her. She has neither the blood nor the mate so a transformation is impossible."

Paix-Métier simply nodded once in deep thought. "Then I guess it was all for naught but I did want to apologize, my dear. I never meant to hurt you."

"I understand, father."

The man sighed heavily. "I fear I shall not return home ever again. I have a brother in Italy who I think I shall spend the rest of my days with. I cannot bear to return to Paris."

"You have our protection and our goodwill, Monsieur."

"Thank you, very much. I hope to see you again someday my dear, when this is all settled. Thank you, Monsieur, for giving my daughter the life she deserves."

"Do not think I am so selfless as to not benefit myself through this union. She is my other half just as I am hers."

The man's smile was weak and unsure but there was no hint of doubt in his eyes. "I will show myself out."

Relena stood there, watching her father go. A man she loved but had barely known. A man with a story, not even he, himself, knew.

"It is a shame when mortals get wrapped up into the affairs of our people. Those of us who follow the ancient laws never do."

"What about Duo?"

"They never knew he was immortal."

Relena sank heavily into Heero's arms and reveled in their strength and warmth. He looked down at her to get a sense of her mood. "Are you all right, Relena?"

"Yes, I suppose I am a trifle sad…but more for him than myself."

"Compassion is an important emotion," Heero praised subtly, trying to boost her in any way he could.

"I…" Relena paused for a moment. "I think I am going to go lie down for a while."

"Of course. Did you not sleep well?"

"No, I did. I do not intend to sleep." A fierce blush stole over her face. "Heero," she said hesitantly. "I am ready to go into your world. I want the responsibility and I want to truly belong. I want to help and I do not want to be sheltered any longer."

The knowledge of what that meant hit Heero like a ton of bricks. He froze, his arms holding her in a vice that ensured she could not escape after a confession like that. "Yes, of course," he rasped. "I believe you are, too."

(O)(O)(O)

Duo smiled with devilish charm as a short-haired woman approached with strictly business in her walk.

"Duo Maxwell."

"Ah, Hilde, my dear," he murmured in approval.

"I hear you have a slight problem with my confinement system?"

"Oh, yes, just slight. Treize and Une were released, traveled to Paris, managed to split our leader from his mate and attempted to murder them both."

His voice was so casual but Hilde heard the edge buried deep beneath. The demonic man was furious.

Her eyes widened and she looked around as though she would instantly see how they had escaped.

"If you are thinking what I am, _ma petite_, you would be saying the word sabotage."

"You are always the first to think of deceit," she accused.

"So much frustration in such a small body…" Duo reached out and ran his hands from her sides, down and over her hips as his eyes followed just a breath behind.

"Spare me your flattery," she said in a stale voice.

"Someday you will come to terms that we are meant to be."

"Come to terms? I beg your pardon, but there would have to be _many_ changes in your lifestyle, my friend, before I would even consider binding myself to you."

Duo took the blow to heart and felt the pain sink deep. She had rejected him time and time again, always sending him back into the world to find a way to deal with himself alone.

She seemed to see the hurt she caused and reached out to touch his shoulder reassuringly. "I will ask all my guards to speak the truth, they will not be able to deceive or lie to me."

"One of your more intriguing gifts. You have never used it on me."

"I do not want the truth from you in any form. Besides, they can still verbally lie; I just see through it."

"Ah. Then you will know what I truly mean when I say I intend to leave and never return."

Hilde smiled gently, her mouth curving in a way that held Duo hypnotized. The statement was made to seem a jest but he lacked the humor in his gaze, though Hilde did not dare examine the declaration closely. "You insist on breaking my heart," he almost whispered. "Do you enjoy causing me such pain?"

"No. I enjoy making you realize, though, that you have to make sacrifices if you truly love someone and listen to them when they say to stop with all the woman, the overkill, and the excess."

Duo felt shame rise up in him and the temperature in his body rose instead of in his environment. He was beginning to cage everything up the older he got. He feared one day he would truly spontaneously combust. "I am not myself, Hilde," he said abruptly. "I am becoming darker…evil on a level, even I cannot control."

"What? Duo, you never told me this…" Hilde died off, her demeanor instantly changing.

"I have been too afraid to speak of it until now. I dare not tell my brothers in arms, I want them to trust me still. I _need_ them to trust me. But, lately, I have been doing these terrible things…things I tell myself not to do but do anyways. I am losing control. It is in my nature but this is bordering deadly."

"You should have called me to you! You know I can counteract your nature."

"Hilde, I refuse to call you to me to save my body and mind but not soul. Each time I would throw myself farther into darkness because you would only turn around and leave."

She dropped her head. "You sound like you are threatening me to settle down."

"No!" Duo exclaimed. "No, I am not. I wanted to tell you that before I told you this: I am going away for a very long time. I am going back to the caves and sealing myself up. I _love_ you, Hilde, as I have always and want to give you the time you deserve but I am too dangerous to be roaming free. My decisions are no longer my own; I am endangering my own brothers! I need you to go to France and take my place as you once vowed you would."

"If you _died_."

"Hilde," Duo said in a voice she had never heard him use. Seriousness. "I almost killed Heero's mate. I came here as I promised him I would to figure out how Treize and Une escaped. Now I am asking you to return and give him the answer."

Tears welled up in Hilde's eyes. "I feel like I am locking you away…"

"Never let guilt control you, Hilde. When you are ready you can unseal me and this will all be over."

"I cannot believe…you are leaving."

"It is truly for the best. Now, promise me you will return to France in my stead."

"Yes, I promise," Hilde said weakly.

"Promise!"

"I do!" she exclaimed, bursting into tears. Hating herself. Hating him. Throwing herself into his arms, she let tears silently track down her face as her body shuddered every few moments.

Duo's arms were soothing and familiar around her. They always were. Even as children they had been. She pulled back slowly and let Duo wipe away her tears and blow warm air on her face to dry it gently.

"Until we meet again."

"Yes," she barely managed.

He separated himself from her grasp and turned on his heel, walking away slowly but never looking back.

"Oh, Duo…forgive me…"

A small kiss was pressed against her cheek and a warm gust of air encircled her momentarily before she was left in the cold watching him until he was out of sight.

Duo Maxwell was gone.

(O)(O)(O)

Heero stared up at the ceiling. He felt torn between an array of emotions. Suddenly, he missed his parents very much. The Master of Chateau le Loup had never taken the time to miss his old family. He'd heard of their deaths only to turn around and try to avenge them in anger. His chest was constricted and burning as he realized the cause of his turmoil: he wanted his parents to see him now, happy, married and free from darkness. He wanted to be able to sit down with them and show them that they hadn't failed like they had thought. Yes, their spirits lived on but those two statues were not truly his parents. Heero felt a heavy sigh force its way out of his body.

Was this how his parents had felt every night? Had his father rested there, staring up at the ceiling pondering his emotions while his wife slept securely in the crook of his arm?

Heero titled his head and looked down at the sleeping form of Relena. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her hand rested slackly over his bare chest. Her creamy skin sat starkly over his slightly darker and rougher flesh. The visual was strangely erotic for Heero knew that what lay beneath the covers was the same contrast of dark and light and intertwined limbs.

Something tightened decisively in Heero's lower stomach as his body came back to life. Another sigh escaped, but this one was for other reasons. Relena shifted just slightly in response to her partner's movements. Heero's mind, against his will, immediately shot back to just hours before. Her shyness had melted away under his hands like the winter frost on a spring morning. Each careful touch on his behalf was rewarded by a wanton response. He had tried his hardest to go slowly, to make her first time as rewarding as possible. Granted, in the end there had been some awkward moments and some unavoidable pain but she had fallen asleep with a flush on her cheeks and a small smile on her face.

Now that the awkward initiation was over Heero's body was taking over his logic and making harder demands. He was no longer nervous having his wife's naked form next to him and that opened the floodgate to instinctual reaction: unrelenting lust.

"Heero?" Relena murmured. Her voice was thick with drowsiness.

"Go back to sleep." The words tore into his body; self-inflicted torture. The immediate response from Relena was a soft laugh. She nuzzled further into his chest, still half in the throes of sleep.

"I do not think that is what you meant to say, milord."

Heero swallowed hard. Now was not the time. Though he was ready, she was still innocent and pushing her into sex two, three times a night would not do her well.

"It would not be wise to set myself upon you whenever I felt the urge to do so."

"Ah, I see, well, should my lord change his mind, I am near to hear the call." Relena closed her eyes and settled in though her body remained alert. She was fully awake now and Heero knew she was just waiting for him to cave. Damn Relena for her playful, stubborn side. She revealed her sense of humor in bits in pieces and always when Heero would care to think that side didn't exist.

"An outright statement for a woman that truly became one just a couple of hours ago."

He could feel her smile broaden against his skin. "Surely, you are beyond thinking this relationship has any semblance of normality."

She had a point. Perhaps it would not be in her nature should she have married anyone other than her true mate. Perhaps she would have been reserved and shy her entire life, had not the destiny and the prophecy of their people befallen her. It would be a deadly flaw should she not desire him as much as he craved her in that moment. Heero contemplated this for a moment. He could take the procedure slowly again, force himself to maintain strict control and still find his release. He had the first time around. The idea of having to go step by step caused his body to truly react as though in pain. No, he would never find that restraint again. Not in a million years. Something inside him had been set free. Something he had been holding back his entire life. Something he had been fighting desperately until tonight.

The wolf.

Heero's second persona roared to life; his true desire, obsession, devotion, love and lust tore through his exterior and in one swift motion he rolled to place himself atop his willing wife.

Relena could not stifle the gasp that escaped her throat in surprise but she recognized him for who he was and despite the firm grip on her body that his fingers were implementing, his gaze was infinitely tender and endearing. Heero's mouth went directly to her neck, seeking out a tendon and following the subtle line with small kisses and bites. Her body took action without her consent; Relena's legs began to rub against his, trying to find any friction to ease the severely concentrated attention to her neck.

"I will not be able to go slowly with you this time," Heero confessed as his kisses delved lower to a more fascinating part of her body.

"Understandably so," Relena gasped as his hot, moist mouth skimmed over her bosom. "I do not think my patience would allow it…regardless!" The last word came out with more force and volume as Heero centered in on his goal and exploited his mouth and hands upon her petal-soft skin.

Heero's foreplay was halting as his right hand deftly sought her core. His fingers pushed deep and when his intrusion was met with a gasp and better yet, hot, hot moisture he gave up all hope of seducing her. She was beyond ready for him and God help him, that was his undoing.

"Look at me," Heero demanded, growling.

Relena's eyes were misty and unfocused as she tried to do as she was told. "I am. Who do you think I see?"

Heero bowed his head. Now was not the time for insecurity. In one swift thrust, he joined their bodies. Her soft cry blended with his low one and there was a moment of silence, frozen in time. Heero felt a tidal wave take over his hearing and his forehead began to throb insistently. Relena's fingers were biting into his back; his only hold on reality.

"I shall never deserve you," Heero rasped, strangely thinking back to his conversation with Duo months ago. "No matter how hard I try."

"Your idea of merit and mine, monsieur, are obviously quite different."

Heero began to move; his motion driven and forceful. Relena met him at every stroke and soon Heero would have been lucky if he could have even recalled his name. His body was tensing, coiling and ready to spring at the merest prompting. When Relena met her end, Heero's mind and body forfeited all reason and reality as he threw himself into an oblivion of raw, painful, satiating sensations. He heard his voice call his wife's name but was hardly aware that it was his own doing.

Exhausted, Heero barely managed to collapse on his side and avoid crushing his gasping lover. Her hair was slightly damp and her body was shimmering in the moon's light. He watched her for a long moment, taking male pride in her worn out state. He would be a very dangerous man if he knew she could find that kind of pleasure in another man's arms. But logic was returning to him exponentially in that moment and he knew she would never stray. It was not in her nature and it was not in her species.

Heero propped himself up instantly, fully alert. Her conversion! Relena, noticing the change, tilted her head. She merely raised an eyebrow at him, just barely, to acknowledge his questioning gaze.

"Do you feel…any different?"

"Tired, warm, _tired_, heavy…" Her smile was slow and teasing. "And very powerful."

"Powerful?" Heero frowned.

Relena brought a hand up to where her neck was aching in waves. Covering the bruised and angry skin, she waited just a second before removing her palm to reveal perfectly, unflawed skin. Heero's frown grew deeper; the lines far more animated and attentive.

"Yes, I would say powerful."

"You are a witch," Heero groused.

"I doubt you will be the last to call me that."

"I would agree. Are you sore anywhere?"

"Not at the moment, which is why I want to take the opportunity now to fall back asleep."

Heero nodded and let his body back down onto the bed. His mind was racing a mile a minute. What would her abilities be? Would her personality change any? Was she with child already?"

"Your mind is much to busy. Please, I really want to sleep."

"And your mind is too blank. How can you not be thinking what I am?"

"Because I have already thought about it."

"When?"

Relena sighed and flipped onto her stomach. "We shall discuss any conversion matters tomorrow, I am no different now than I was before I went to sleep and I am not with child. I just know. Will you please keep your thoughts to yourself now?"

Heero growled low in his throat, an action that only elicited a soft laugh from Relena.

"Go to sleep," he ordered, trying to be strict.

"I am trying and I would if you would let me."

Heero closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He could feel the realm of sleep already tugging at his consciousness. His gaze went blurry and just before he fell asleep he had the deepest feeling of loss rush over him.

Like he had just lost a dear friend.

(O)(O)(O)

AN: No apology will ever be like this again I hope. The delay on this chapter will hopefully never happen again either. I am so sorry. Writer's block was one, and horrible timing, I know. There was a tremendous loss in our family over break that set me back an eternity and now that I'm back in school; I can't seem to find the time of day to even sit! So! Thank you all for whoever stuck with me through this. I really appreciate your support and please let me know what you thought of this longer chapter! Thank you to: Maria, Nihal, princessyui, AngelicRoses, Ayi, TRINARA, vistmay, flaming-amber, mischka, RedLion2, Katherine, Sailor Tiamat, LadyIncant, …, blissful trinity, SAGA123, Reignashii, Sanskrit, LoisLane95, Death'sFlowerGarden, apol, gundamgirl1818, Deja Know I Been Lookin For Vu, WindCloud, Alaskantiger, silver-eyed, sanctuary, Rach, hashiba42, 4everfanfic, EmpKaylenatye, Rainstorm Elegance, Uruwashii Inochi, Mini Nicka, heaven'sgirl, whitefang585, Purdy, Oyuki, Amulak, lolopptt, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, Animouse03, Native-Chick-Pea, and R'Lena.

Your reviews are out of this world!


	11. Chapter 11

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Eleven_

Heero couldn't move. Something in his gut twisted to the point of excruciating pain. His eyes went flat and lifeless as he stood, helpless to move or respond. This was somehow his fault. He should have found a way to…to what? Where were the signs? The indications that something had been awry?

Hilde brushed a pale hand over her thick eyelashes; bowing her head before the one she called her lord. "He told me to report to you on my findings regarding the escape of Treize and Une."

Relena shot up out of her seat, her long dress swishing through the painful silence. She grabbed onto Hilde's sleeved arm and looked into her dark eyes. "Now is not the time to fret over those two. Come, you have had a long journey here and I implore you to eat something before we continue this."

"You are his wife?" Hilde whispered.

Relena just nodded, and with a soft smile she reached out and dried a wayward tear. "I hold no ill will towards Duo, you must understand that and above all, you must believe me when I say that. His courage to right his wrongs and to protect the ones dear to him makes him a saint in my eyes." Relena's smile grew bolder, her pink lips parting and her dimples giving way to a younger looking woman. "Please, come with me."

Heero heard the power laced with her request. The healer in Relena was stronger than any he had ever met. He, himself, was compelled to go with her even though she had not even spared him a second glance yet. He felt her in his heart, in the air he breathed.

Hilde sniffed and bowed her head. "I do love him," she whispered as they walked out of the den.

Relena stopped the short-haired woman and held her firmly with both hands. Hilde reached up for support, holding onto Relena's delicate wrists. She was ashamed to look into Relena's eyes but upon the request to do so, she relented.

"I love Heero more than life itself. It is a love deeper than the ocean and I know what kind of pain comes with that sacrifice. Duo did what he had to do for himself and now you need to do the same, for yourself. He would never forgive _himself_ if you did not."

"I know…I just…I…" Hilde growled in frustration. "What is wrong with me? Why am I the problem?"

Relena smiled a knowing grin. "That, my friend, is easily explained. We are amongst barbarians and it is the only form of civil preservation we have. Alas, I found that you can only fight them so long before you have to stoop to their level and become one of them. You are stronger than I, holding out as you have. When you are ready to stoop, Duo will be ready to welcome you."

Hilde broke out into laughter but that only caused a further onslaught of tears. Relena pulled Hilde into a companionable hug. Relena felt tears burning behind her own eyelids as she thought of what she and Heero had been through, what they would have to go through before they would truly be happy together. Treize and Une hung heavily over her conscious. Sometimes she would dream at night that Heero was lying dead beside her and she was forced to wait until her time was up as Treize and Une smiled down at her.

So lost in her thoughts, Relena barely knew to let go of Hilde when she tried to pull back. Hilde wiped her tears quickly and sighed heavily. "You have a way of putting all blame onto men."

"I am a woman of high society; that is all we were trained to do. This way, the chef here is God himself in the kitchen. You eat to your heart's content and then I will have a hot bath for you and a bed with plenty of handkerchiefs to cry into. We will talk tomorrow when we can accomplish the most. Tonight is one for healing."

Hilde nodded and sighed heavily, her shoulders rising and then falling as though under great strain. "Very well. I can show myself from here."

"Of course."

Relena watched the woman walk down the hall. She held her chin up and kept her shoulders square. Good woman. It was not easy doing the right thing. It rarely seemed to be even bearable. Relena took her turn to retreat from the hallway and returned to the den. She took a moment to stare at Heero's form looking out of the window. One arm was propped against the sill, his head resting on the cushion of his forearm. He seemed younger somehow; more vulnerable than usual.

"I should have seen it."

Relena put her hands on her hips. "Yes, since deep down we all knew he had good intentions." Her voice was clearly sarcastic but there was a soothing touch to it; a balm to ease the blame.

"Duo has never been so violent. Especially towards women. Towards someone I cared about."

Relena could almost see the waves of despair, confusion and frustration coming off of Heero in a steady ebb and flow. She walked slowly towards him, giving him time to decide if he wanted someone near or if he wanted his space. In the end he turned and took her into his arms. Relena let her arms wrap around his waist as he tucked her in close to his chest. His heartbeat was too fast, she mused, as he lowered his head atop hers.

"You can only blame yourself so long before you realize that there was no helping this and that Duo would not want you acting this way."

"What way? Worrying over him whilst holding my wife in my arms? It would seem you do not know him so well after all."

Relena felt his sad smile against her head as he inhaled the clean scent of her hair. He groaned aloud and pushed her back against the sill just slightly. Relena's hands tread lightly to his narrow hips.

"Now is not the time," Heero reasoned.

"I agree; I must say I like this dress far too much."

Heero pulled away and looked into her eyes. "You do remember what he did to you, do you not? How afraid of him you were afterwards?"

"Yes, Heero, I remember. I will never forget. But I forgive him and it is my turn to remain strong while you and Hilde come to terms."

Heero frowned. "I will not have any of this feminist nonsense in my presence nor will I be swayed by the prospect of your…tempting body, to let my thoughts go." Despite his chaste words, his eyes seemed to have a will of their own, roving approvingly over his wife's figure.

Relena pulled herself away slightly. "Very well then. I suppose I shall just retire then to our bedchamber. I believe a bath is waiting for me."

"I lied; you are a not a witch, you are the spawn of the devil himself."

"Of course, dear."

(O)(O)(O)

Heero sat, staring into the fireplace. Damn Relena, what was she thinking? This was a time to panic, to find Duo and stop him from his foolish and dangerous mission. This was a time to punish Hilde for her childish irresponsibility and disloyalty to her mate.

Heero flinched. Punish her? Dear God, barely weeks ago Relena was in the same position. Perhaps Relena was right, maybe all female mates were on a level above the males, just waiting to give in when they could no longer stand the frustration. No, Relena was right; this was not Hilde's fault. No more than their relationship problems had been Relena's.

But, Heero, surely he had some fault in the situation. He had never been a good friend to Duo. He had always been the one to push the braided man away. Could this have been avoidable if he had listened and cared a little more often?

No. Duo's struggle was with his mate. Not with who listened or who cared.

Damn Relena. Would that woman always be right? The image of her soft, curvy body dripping wet and glistening instantly invaded his worried thoughts. As soon as the erotic image came to mind, his nervous tension eased and gave way to a new kind of a tension.

A tension he could alleviate.

Heero almost physically jerked in realization. So, that was the little minx's idea behind her subtle seduction. Damn her thrice over.

For knowing exactly what he needed.

Heero stood abruptly and not even seeing his way, strode up the huge staircase off of the main entryway and made his way up to _their_ bedchamber as she always called it. He had a hard time not calling it his since he had slept in that bed since he was but a boy. _Ours. _The word had infinite power.

Heero opened the unlocked door and made sure to fix that error immediately by locking it behind him. Relena's long hair spilled over the edge of the bath as steam rose off the one arm she lifted to lather with soap. She did not even turn her head to face him. Heero leaned back against the door, arms folded, as he watched her slowly soap her forearm and dip it back into the water. He could handle that. What he could not handle was when she gracefully brought one leg from the depths of the bath into plain sight. Heero's body reacted swiftly and forcefully.

Steam seemed to crawl off of her shapely leg in seductive tendrils, coiling slowly into the air that he was drawing into his body. The air smelled like lavender soap and rose water. Floral. Clean. And almost innocently erotic.

Relena released her leg into the bath and sat up slowly, her back slightly turned to him so he could see the smooth lines of her shoulder blades and just a hint of her swollen bosom. She peeked over her shoulder and then looked down at it. "I have a hard time reaching my back. Would you mind lending me your aid kind sir?"

"Not at all," Heero barely managed. He was no longer properly thinking. Or thinking at all. Just feeling and reacting instantly. He paced over to her, throwing his shirt off over his head and kicking off his boots. He took the soap from her hand and tucked her hair over her shoulder. Slowly, his breath burning in his lungs, he pressed a kiss against her petal-soft skin just between her shoulder blades. He burned a series of kisses in a line from the base of her spine at her neck and then down along the tiny ridges before working in the soap and rinsing off the skin with care.

They were both breathing heavily by the time Relena turned in the tub and brought her mouth to his with little hesitation. Heero was quick to haul her out of the bath, soaking wet and deposit her directly onto the coverlet of his expansive bed.

"I told you it was in your best interest to move my belongings into your bedchamber," Relena murmured in a husky voice.

"I shall never doubt your judgment on furniture placement again," Heero groaned as he covered her body with his own. A low moan escaped his throat as Relena worked on freeing him of his last garment. He was losing control fast. He could hardly breathe; his one thought on her hot, moist body beneath his. Her hands gripped his back, the feeling of cold metal, a sharp contrast from her wedding and engagement rings, sent a sharp pang of possessiveness through him.

"I love you," he confessed breathily as he lowered his head to her neck and lower still.

"I know," she gasped. "Even though the wind could blow me away."

Heero sighed heavily with frustration as he nuzzled the valley between her breasts. "It was my last defense against your siren ways."

Relena laughed and gave up all hope of teasing. Twining her fingers into his hair, she willed her husband, lover and friend to do what he wished.

(O)(O)(O)

Wufei sat back and slowly removed his glasses. Two black orbs stared heavily out the window. He felt soft, feminine hands rest against his shoulders.

"Eyes are the window to the soul, until you are me, in which case they are a mirror and you are forced to see the darkest, ugliest side of yourself possible," Wufei said in a voice that pitched low with sorrow and remorse.

Nitaku's hands tightened on his shoulders. "No, my love, your eyes show others who they truly are. You did not send Duo to his fate."

"I took my glasses off. We were fighting. He looked right into them; knowing he should not have. In that moment, I knew that was when he made his decision to seal himself."

"Wufei, yes, he did see what he was and he did not like it. He did not like it before he saw himself and when it did it was just…confirmation of what he was already thinking of doing."

Wufei turned to look at his pale, beautiful wife. She smiled sweetly at him, looking past his jet-black eyes. She loved to stare into his eyes. So unique. Just one color. All of it. Black. She saw his goals, ambitions, hopes, fears and desires all in one instant and he never once tried to hold it back from her. She could see past the mirrors and into his soul.

"You know it is not right to blame yourself. Duo had to do it."

"If Hilde would just realize her responsibility."

Nitaku straightened up and delivered a scolding look. "Duo never treated her as a mate should have; I hardly blame her."

"When Heero and Relena were having their troubles I almost forgot that Duo and Hilde were going on their second century of conflict. They both need closure."

"Yes, they do. But what I am more interested in is how Treize and Une got free and how Quatre actually let Trowa take such a beating."

Wufei's laugh was caustic. "Believe me, my flower, that Quatre did not _let_ Trowa take that beating and the battle between Trowa and Une was nothing compared to the one Quatre and Trowa had afterwards."

"I can hardly imagine." Nitaku seemed distracted suddenly, her mind changing gears almost visibly. With a sigh she confessed, "I do wish I could meet Relena."

"She will convert soon if she has not already. Then you can meet her."

Nitaku tucked a straight strand of hair behind her ear and turned to the stove of their small kitchen. "I love you, Wufei. Please, do not do anything too risky. We barely came out alive the last time we ran into dark times."

Wufei could not keep himself in his seat as he walked over to his Asian wife and wrapped his arms around her trim waist. "No, I promise, nothing like that will ever happen again. I intend to keep you far out of danger and then I have no chance of losing my level head."

Nitaku leaned back against his strong frame and sighed heavily. "When will Heero be sworn in as our leader?"

"After Treize and Une are dealt with. Unfortunately, he will remain the informal leader until then. We cannot risk convening until all threats are removed."

"All threats?"

"I have a feeling Dekim is behind this. _Again_."

"He claims to be part of the Church; a mortal. That would prevent him from knowing any immortals personally so he would not have contact with Treize and Une…"

"Mortals are easily fooled by a persuasive story. I am almost sure he authorized and organized their release from confinement."

"Poor Heero."

Wufei nodded. "I can only imagine," he sighed. "At least he is no longer alone."

"But now he has everything to lose _again._" They both said the last word simultaneously and Wufei dropped a reassuring kiss to his mate's head.

"You worry too much."

"You never worry."

"I have no need to worry."

Nitaku nudged his ribs with her elbow. "You frustrating man, make yourself useful."

(O)(O)(O)

"Stop pacing."

…

"Quatre, I mean it."

…

"Stop pacing or I will take this bracelet off."

"You take that bracelet off and so help me, I will kill you." There was no humor, no trace of amusement in the accusation. Quatre nearly meant it.

Trowa sighed and threw himself back onto the couch. He hated the feeling of being restricted in a body. He was starting to feel claustrophobic and on top of that, with Quatre pacing before him in his usually comfortable, rustic cottage setting, and was beginning to feel anxious.

"Why would Duo do such a stupid thing?"

"Quatre, it was not stupid. He was becoming a threat and he needs to place himself in a secure location until Hilde can help him."

"Daft man," Quatre muttered his curse as he stopped pacing only to cross his arms and tap his fingers with fierce repetition. "Certainly there was another solution."

"We all know there was not."

"It is all his fault anyways. He could not control himself for one moment; not even for Hilde."

"Quatre, sit down, please. You need to relax. Everything with sort itself out."

"We have no leader. Duo is down for the count. Treize and Une are at large. Is there anything _not_ to worry about?"

"Heero has invited us for dinner. He says that Relena has converted and that he would be delighted to have us over along with Wufei and Nitaku, when he gets the invites to them."

"Relena? Converted?" Quatre exclaimed, sitting down at last.

"Yes. And her powers are unlike any we have heard of. She can destroy, use elements, and her healing abilities are above any of the healers that have ever been born to our kind."

Quatre sighed and sat back. "Well, all right then, I suppose that is one thing I can get off of my mind."

Trowa raised an expressive eyebrow, his green eyes sparkling just slightly. "I am afraid to ask just why that would be on your mind of all things."

Quatre threw a haughty glance over his shoulder to the man sitting beside him. "I have half a mind to seal you away as well."

"Good thing you have another half that knows that if you did that you would only be doing a disservice to yourself."

Quatre growled softly, deep in his throat. Literally growled. "Like you would not care in the least."

"Is this going to be another power struggle?"

"Power struggle? Ha! You do not even comprehend the meaning of a power strug—!"

Trowa's mouth was uncharacteristically hard and unyielding against his lover's. "Enough," he murmured as he pulled away. "Heero plans to strategize the destruction of Une and Treize at the dinner. We need to have some ideas to contribute."

"You mean to distract me."

"Any way I can," Trowa answered honestly. "I am near sick with all this negative attention."

Quatre sighed and attempted at smiling. He needed to lighten up. He needed to stop stressing over every tiny detail. But, Quatre was a Winner and Winners worried. His father had told him that.

"Very well, shall we head to the study?"

"The couch is hardly suitable there."

Quatre threw a strong gust of wind directly into Trowa's face before he stood and stalked to the study. Trowa felt a laugh bubbling up inside of him, but he held it there, as he often did, savoring the feel of happiness. Of contentment. Quatre's eyes already looked less shadowed.

Growing somber at that thought, Trowa stood, laughter dying. He wanted to eliminate those shadows before Quatre had a real reason to start worrying.

Wufei had felt it too. The sharp spike of power, of evil. Une and Treize were a big part of whatever was going on, but they were not all of it. Something else was the driving force behind their intent. Wufei suspected Dekim but something didn't sit well with Trowa.

Dekim, despite all his hatred of Heero had steered clear from Odin during the man's rule. Steered clear because Dekim owed the man his life and bitter as he was, he harbored no ill will towards the Yuy legacy, only embarrassment. With Odin dead, Dekim had grown to become power hungry and desperate, for he too had been hunted. He knew that to be the hunter was to be saved from being the hunted. That was Dekim's role in the plot, Trowa was sure. The medium. So, who had been the driving force behind the actual murder of Heero's parents? That was their man. That was their enemy.

Trowa wished his powers had been stronger. He could feel evil, sense it, hold it, touch it. But evil was just an idea and it owned no face.

Somewhere, in the vastness of space there was a crouching, plotting beast waiting to destroy the last link holding their kind together. The green-eyed being, pressed a solid hand against his throbbing forehead.

Evil might not have a face, Trowa mused. But the enemy did. And he was going to do everything in his power to find that person and bring them to their demise. For he, above all of his companions, understood the full gravity of the crisis that would be their species separating, losing their union. He had experienced it once. Back when he was too young to even take the form of a man. Back when their kind was powerful and abundant. It had only taken a single betrayal to send the world into chaos, to destroy the bond between all of their kind. He had watched in horror as a child was born unto a male and female that had separate mates. Watched as the one sacred law between them all had been broken. The child was evil.

By the time the child was only nine or ten the Yuy family ascended to power and rooted the child out as the source of their people's growing hatred, fear and anxiety. Evil tainted the air, the air Trowa had never been forced to breathe in. Master Yuy had forced the child deep underneath the earth, sealed away for all time…

Trowa jerked suddenly, inhaling sharply, taking in the subtle tinge in the air. Something was off. Wufei had called it evil. Quatre was not himself. Heero was rumored to be giving into guilt. Nitaku seemed to be succumbing to her fears slowly, subtly. Duo had reached the end of his rope. It has happening all over again. It _had_ been happening. Treize and Une splitting from their people's union. Dekim leaving the group. Families slowly going their own way. Mates unable to find each other; dying slowly without their other half. The hunts, the suspicion.

"Trowa?" Quatre murmured, leaning out of the doorway to the study. "Is something the matter?"

"Quatre, do you remember when I told you the story of the Division of our People?"

"Of course, I wrote it down for the archives."

"The evil child, what was its name?"

"Her name," Quatre corrected gently. "Her name was Mariemaia."

"Mariemaia," Trowa whispered, the name seemed to poison the very air around him. "She is the one behind this."

"But she was sealed away long ago…" Quatre's voice died off and he swallowed hard. "Only her mate could unseal her and she was born out of sanction."

"So was Relena. That does not mean that they are destined to a life alone. A body is of very little consequence, just as the blood that runs through it."

Quatre's eyes widened and despite the fact that his mouth opened to speak nothing came out. Trowa's eyes darkened as he looked at Quatre. He felt his human heart suddenly begin to pound with fear, with painful memories.

"This no longer concerns just Heero and Relena. They may be the first targets, but she works her hatred into everyone. She is _evil_ Quatre and she has influence over each and every one of us."

"Trowa, what are we going to do?"

"We have to find the one that can defeat her."

"What can possibly defeat evil itself?"

Trowa sighed heavily and shrugged. "What else? _Good_."

Goodness. Purity. Light against the dark. Was it possible one of their kind was that flawless?

"Say that it is Mariemaia behind this and that we need to find her opposition. How could we ever hope to find _absolute good_? That is inside a person."

"Exactly," Trowa agreed. "That is why we are going to need to contact Wufei."

(O)(O)(O)

AN: Yay! The joys of college and how much time it demands. I hope this chapter was a satisfactory one. As always, your reviews are very, very, very much appreciated and I ask that you forgive any slight grammatical errors. I was torn between, wait a few days to proof read it or just post it. I'm going to post it. Probably soon I will repost with a more thoroughly edited version. I appreciate the feedback and happy February to everyone! Thanks for the fantastic reviews from: Saga123, blissful trinity, Niebezpiczny Ksiezyc, Danielle, Death'sFlowerGarden, whitefang585, Angelwing507, flaming-amber, Rach, Mini Nicka, 4everfanfic, Purdy, sanctuary, Kou Haruko, Sailor Tiamat, hieiashke, EmpKaylenatye, Reignashii, LadyIncant, silver-eyed, WindCloud, Jessica, Native-Chick-Pea, Trinara, AngelicRoses, Alaskantiger, Oyuki, heaven'sgirl, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, hashiba42, Uruwashii Inochi, Animouse03,


	12. Chapter 12

_**The Master of Chateau le Loup**_

_Chapter Twelve_

Heero was on the verge of pulling rank and demanding Relena stay out of the night's affairs. No, he was past the verge. He was literally drawing air into his lungs as he watched his wife sweep her hair into the beginnings of an elegant bun. Air that was about to be expelled in a stern rush of commands.

He didn't even have a chance to let out the first syllable when his wife glared at him from her position before the mirror. "Do not," she warned gently, though her voice held no teasing. "I am a part of your world and a pivotal part of this situation; I will _not_ be tucked away like some ignorant child."

Heero heard the hesitation on the work 'tucked.' She had wanted to say 'locked' and it nearly broke his heart; a weakness he did not dare examine too carefully. He strode up to her and placed gentle hands on her shoulders. "It is not because I think you are ignorant," he pointed out. With a heavy sigh he bowed his head slightly, "I just want you to be that way in this situation. You have barely begun understanding the way we see the world and how we fit in. I would loathe showing you our dark side now."

Relena smiled just slightly, the curve to her lip slightly sardonic. "And all along you mean to tell me that you have shown me nothing but your best?"

Heero bowed his head to her neck and bit in gently, a small teasing bite that ensured a tiny, subtle mark would be left behind. He felt surprisingly possessive over her. Not like before. This was different. He wanted to physically mark her as his. He wanted his scent on her at all times and he wanted to brush her mind at any time of the day and know that she was already thinking over him. He wanted her in a way that was complete and total. God help him, he was treating her like he was a wolf.

Relena tilted her neck to give him slightly better access, and with a surrendering groan, Heero stepped forward to steal his arms about her waist and bury his face into the inviting curve of her skin. He found a tendon and began to trace it with his lips, tongue and teeth. He felt her sigh heavily against him and lean back into the strength of his body. This was how he wanted her at all times. Wanting him. Just as badly as he wanted her.

"Heero, please, you know it would be a bad decision if you just dismissed me in this issue. I may be of no use whatsoever but at least if I know what is going on I will be out of your hair about it in the future and will be informed enough to remain quiet and as calm as possible."

Her rationale was not what drove Heero to give into her wishes; it was the sincere way she asked him, addressing him by first name followed by please. It was almost childish in a way. In a vulnerable way. In a way a person pleads with another in a higher position. He hated that sound but when Relena used it he only felt sad.

As demanding and domineering as Heero was, he never thought women to be less than him. No one was less than him. Never in his life had he merited respect and honor above others. It was his damned name that put him above all else and it was a pathetic excuse. Relena was proving to be as powerful as him if not more and her intelligence was far exceeding of women her age and class. That slightly subservient tone in her voice caused him to cave almost instantly.

"I am being foolish trying to separate you from what is happening. I just…" Heero searched for the right words as he toyed with an intriguing dip on her collarbone. "I just want to surround you with happiness, contentment. I want you to have this carefree world; one I never had."

"It would hardly be a world of contentment without you," Relena murmured huskily, her eyes fluttering closed in bliss.

"I could visit often," Heero responded, as his hands sought to explore her stomach and higher to more interesting conquests.

Relena's smile was genuine but faint. He knew that would never please her. Relena, despite all of her fiery and (seductive, Heero reluctantly admitted) independence, she was helplessly in love with Heero and looked to him at every turn for guidance and assurance. He grew nervous when he thought about the day she would no longer feel insecure in her new environment and would no longer need him that way.

Pulling slightly away, Relena clicked her tongue at him in reprimand. "Your hands are far too free in their wandering, good sir, and your worries are unfounded. I doubt there will ever come a day that I wish to charge headlong and unguided through a situation regarding this new view on the world."

Despite the fact that she teased, Heero felt strangely comforted. He loved how they shared their minds so freely. He had envied Trowa and Quatre and Wufei and Nitaku as they were able to reside and find comfort in each other's minds. Heero found Relena's a welcome sanctuary where he knew he would always be welcomed and accepted. It was heaven to be with her and he felt desperate to protect her. And desperation was something Heero of the Yuy Legacy rarely ever felt.

"They are close by," Heero said suddenly, lifting his head just slightly as though he would actually be able to hear them.

"Just in time," Relena chirped as she slipped on her shoes and led the way out of their bedchamber.

Heero was quick to slow her down and wrap her hand about his forearm before they descended the stairs to the lower floor.

"Such formality," Relena murmured.

"They will no longer see you as my new bride, Relena. You are the wife of their leader. The lack of formality would be appalling."

_You are the wife of their leader…_

Relena looked up at her husband and noticed how aloof his features were. He was distant, his mind already reaching into the future in hopes of guiding the conversation towards production. This was no king. No man with a title of authority. Heero _led_ people. With his decisions were consequences, with his mannerisms were judgments. How alone he must have been until now.

"_Bebe,_" Heero barely breathed the endearment. "Your pity is flattering but entirely uncalled for."

Relena felt an instant rebuttal rise up. It was not uncalled for! The poor man had been utterly alone. Before she could open her mouth, though, Heero spoke again.

"You are here with me now; making my past just some distant, and rather unpleasant dream. Your actions defeat your pity."

There was humbleness to his tone. Genuine Gratitude.

Midnight blue eyes peered down into surreal sea-green ones and the world seemed to stop for a moment.

_You are my life now. Nothing else matters._

And Heero meant that.

(O)(O)(O)

Relena barely recognized her husband. His eyes had gone cold, calculating. He was no longer man or beast. He was some brooding god sent down from the heavens. His presence filled the room and commanded it. Everyone in the room seemed uncomfortable with it. Relena was just fascinated.

"Trowa, your logic is superbly sound…" Heero muttered.

Trowa raised an eyebrow at his lover momentarily at the compliment, never having received one before from his leader.

"But…" Heero died off. His eyes went straight to Wufei and then to his wife. "I am not so sure I am keen on how we discover if your idea is right."

Wufei bent his head and Nitaku instantly put her hand on his shoulder.

"You want me to look into his eyes," Relena put it bluntly. "To see if I see through his powers? That makes me good, correct?"

"Not quite," Wufei murmured. "It should reflect visibly back onto you. We would see some physical sign of proof."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"If you are not," Nitaku said quickly. "What you _will_ see could haunt you for years. Only Heero so far has been able to look back at himself without horror."

"I am not afraid of myself and that is all I am."

Relena stood and strode over to Wufei. The instant hush in the room was close to a gasp. She motioned for Wufei to remove his glasses and instantly, Heero was at Relena's side, readying to pull her away at the first sign of trouble.

Wufei looked to Heero before following Relena's gesture. Heero simply nodded.

With a forlorn sigh, Wufei gave into the request and took his glasses off. Relena met his stare directly.

Quatre let out a soft exclamation with Nitaku as a small light radiated back onto Relena's form, barely haloing her. Heero couldn't believe it. _She_ was the key but the light was weak, incomplete looking. Faded.

Shrugging in defeat, Heero decided to pull Relena away from the gaze, to tell her it had been a good idea but…it just wasn't what they needed. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. But then the light extended to him, growing stronger, more brilliant.

"Incredible," Nitaku's hushed voice spoke what no one was saying. "Quatre, Trowa, quick, put your hands on Heero or Relena's shoulders."

Trowa and Quatre followed, each finding a shoulder to touch. The light grew brighter, bolder and it seemed to come alive, engulfing all of them.

"Hilde, you as well." Nitaku moved to join the girl and the light continued to increase exponentially.

Wufei blinked and the light remained. He had unlocked the key. The source. Standing, he slipped his glasses back on and stood to hold his wife's shoulder.

Quatre's voice was haunting as he murmured a lullaby sung to all of the immortals as children. "Darkness, darkness goes away when all our powers join the day. Flame will burn if wick is found and stay that way through nighttime's ground. Evil, evil goes away when all our powers join the day. Close your eyes and breathe out fast, and evil, evil will not last."

"Dear God," Heero whispered, clearly recalling the song that had been sung to him a million times over. "Quatre, Trowa, you two are opposites; physical sensation and mental sensation. Wufei, you and Nitaku are reflection and absorption. Relena and I are dark and light. Hilde you are faith and Duo…"

Hilde's eyes slowly lifted up to Heero's and she shook her head. "He is certainty and I am hesitation." She sighed heavily.

It was Trowa's voice that broke through the long silence that followed. "We need Duo to finish this."

(O)(O)(O)

Treize, Une and Dekim, still dressed in his priest's attired strangely enough, all knelt before a worn armchair. Relena's surrogate mother stood next to the armchair, regally, her hand resting on a small girl's fiery red hair.

"I feel them gathering." The voice was happy, carefree bubbled with laughter. "I think our little game must soon come to an end."

Treize peered over to Une who kept her eyes closed and breathed steadily through her nose. It was all a façade, he knew. Une had wanted the death of the Yuy legacy just as much as he did for the banishment of their family from the protected lands. Generations ago as it was, he kept his family's honor above all else and made sure Une did not cave either. Dekim had provided them the means to exact revenge but now Relena was in the picture and Une was weaker than ever.

"You kneel before me but your loyalty hardly does," the girl pointed out Treize's thoughts to Une.

"She is my daughter. Blood is never a simple matter."

"Then aren't to be trusted!" Mariemaia spat, leaning forward. She breathed heavily for a moment, a bit out of control until she felt her 'mother' pat her shoulder reassuringly. "Right," she murmured to herself. "You have a decision to make, Lady, if you wish to continue your existence on this traitorous earth, then your loyalty will lie with me. Besides, she belongs to _him_ now. Not to you."

"Of course, milady."

Treize was not convinced but hoped Mariemaia would be slightly more so.

The redhead sat back and crossed her feet, a childish matter for an ancient being.

"The key has already been unlocked," Mariemaia paused at the strange, illogical but ancient saying before continuing, "and it seems that your little ray of sunshine is their flame. They need only that preposterous Duo character to complete their…union, if you will."

Une looked up, her eyes wide. Relena? The flame? Sprung from such evil, though. Relena was born from hate, out of marriage, out of _immortality_ for God's sake. How could she be the flame?

Mariemaia raised an eyebrow at the woman. "I was born in love, from two married couples and in immortality. It would only be fitting that my enemy not be."

Une bowed her head, feeling unwilled tears coming to the surface.

"We need to act now, be ready for them at the caves. If they are able to join with Duo, all will be lost in our attempt. We will have to precede them and be ready to welcome them when they arrive. Treize, a map if you will."

As Treize stood, Dekim snuck at look at his leader. "Will all due respect, milady, how were you freed from confinement if you do not have your mate with you?"

"Ah, alas, he is not yet _born_. It is truly not necessary for a mate to be physically present to rescue his other half. Just existent. In fact, Lady Une, he is currently very content in your daughter's womb."

Une's head snapped up, her eyes wide with fear.

Mariemaia laughed. "Of course, Dekim and I had been in contact for a very long time and he has been ever so loyal to me and my commands. But it was a particularly cool and pleasant late afternoon when I all of a sudden was able to see light shining down in my small cell. I rose to the surface the very night your daughter joined…_our family_."

"No…"

"Oh, yes, I think I shall be around for quite some time. You see, I do not think Heero and Relena would respond so well knowing that the only true way to destroy their people's enemy would be to destroy their own son."

Une's head fell, tears beginning to fall from her eyes onto the stone floor just inches away from her.

_She froze, one hand unable to stay away from her swollen belly. Despite the regal and defiant look she kept on her face she was shaking inside with fear. She had certainly just seen her doom in the face of the man standing before her in the middle of the forest. No matter who she called for, this was it and she was going to die alone. Well, not alone; her poor, innocent daughter would go as well. She had loathed the creature growing inside of her until it began to bring her a measure of peace, of goodness. She had felt the pure spirit living inside her womb and was beginning to believe that if she could create something so good she must be good herself…somewhere deep down inside. It didn't matter now. She was as good as dead._

"_We meet at last." Every word was an animalistic growl that she could barely understand. _

"_Yes, your timing seems to be slightly one step behind mine as of late. I was beginning to think you had failed your heritage."_

_Heero's eyes were stone cold as he stared at her, his hands balled in fists. She could feel his hatred boiling off of him, directed solely at her. A small kick in her stomach reminded her of her child, no doubt aware of her mother's true distress and reacting accordingly. _

_Heero seemed to follow her eyes down to her swollen stomach where instantly, his demeanor faltered. _

"_A girl," Une sighed. "I gave her a French name, since her father happens to be of that origin. Relena. I heard a mother calling to her daughter from a creek once in the South of France. I found the name to my liking. She responds well to it…"_

"_A girl…" Heero murmured, sounding extremely confused. He stared down at the swollen abdomen for several long moments and Une was acutely aware that the baby's attention was just as fixed on him as his was on her. At long last, Heero took a few stumbling steps away._

"_I will not spill the blood of an innocent child," he said with a wavering voice, filled with rage, regret, self-hatred and something that resembled fear. "Leave before I change my mind. NOW!" _

_Une had never thought to look back. Though, she knew her child had. _

Relena. Now carrying her grandchild safely in her womb. A child that would have to die to save their entire race. Une felt a sob rise up in her. This wasn't right. How had this happened?

Mariemaia sat back and smiled.

"Tell me, Une, where your loyalty lies now. Could you truly kill your unborn grandson and your daughter or are you disloyal to me even now?"

Une slammed a fist down hard into the tiled floor. She bit her lip until it bled.

"Answer me!"

Looking up, Une glared fully into the eyes of the devil itself. "My loyalty lies unerringly with you."

Mariemaia's smile was that of satisfaction and confidence.

"I had a feeling that would be your response."

(O)(O)(O)

Heero collapsed, sated, exhausted, sweat still glistening on his body. Relena instantly curled up to his damp body as his arm easily encased her.

He found her temple and pressed a loving kiss to the side of it.

"You are my world," Heero murmured huskily, tiredly in her ear.

"As you are mine."

Heero could not prevent the itch to lay a hand over her abdomen. At times, he had felt the beginning of life growing in his wife's womb. At times it was impossible to tell. It wouldn't be until the child was several months old and truly developing. The idea, though, was enticing enough. He wanted to see his wife swollen and full with his child. Soft fantasies of a nursery and a sleeping wife and baby made Heero sigh contentedly.

A child. _Their _child. What he wouldn't give…

"Heero?" Relena murmured.

"Go to sleep, my dear," he coaxed, closing his own eyes firmly and letting go of his daydream. "We have much to plan tomorrow."

Relena mumbled something barely understandable under her breath as she nuzzled in closer to her husband. With another kiss to her temple, Heero surrendered himself to sleep as well.

(O)(O)(O)

AN: shorter chapter, but I couldn't resist ending it there. Dum, dum, dum! Thank you to all who reviewed. I am very excited that this story is building in action. As far as chapters go…man, I'm not so sure. This is poorly planned out as far as chapter-to-chapter goes. This is chapter twelve…huh…probably twenty chapters as the max. Don't quote me though! Who knows? Anyways, I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter and ALL feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you to the following reviewers: SAGA123, Deja Know I Been Lookin For Vu, LoVe23, hashiba42, jellybean-kitty, hieiashke, Nihal, WindCloud, LoisLane95, AngelicRoses, Alaskantiger, lolopptt, Amulak, Animouse03, whitefang585, Mini Nicka, Death'sFlowerGarden, Reignashii, Native-Chick-Pea, Uruwashii Inochi, heaven'sgirl, 4everfanfic, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, sanctuary, Purdy, and silver-eyed.


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